The Sandbox

VS

Ark: Survival Evolved

The Sandbox is a blockchain-based virtual world and sandbox game that peaked in popularity during the NFT/metaverse boom around 2021-2022. Activity has dropped significantly since then, partly due to a wider decline in interest in crypto gaming and metaverse titles. It is still supported by Animoca Brands and has a steady, niche user base, but the current daily player count is relatively low compared to its peak. It does offer massively multiplayer elements but most spaces are instanced or event-driven, not a single persistent shared world.

Ark: Survival Evolved is a popular survival sandbox game released in 2017 and available on nearly all platforms. Its peak was several years ago, but it maintains a stable community thanks to official and community servers, modding, and occasional event content. While numbers have declined since launch, the game still sees tens of thousands of daily players across PC and consoles, especially due to its ongoing updates and active mod scene. However, it is not an MMO as it does not feature a single, large-scale persistent world—servers are capped and players are sharded.