Starbound
Starbound is Chucklefish's sandbox exploration game, played solo or in small groups on self-hosted or community servers across procedurally-generated planets, not a persistent shared world.
Platform availability
Highlighted platforms are confirmed in MMOFinder’s current profile. Dimmed platforms have no confirmed listing.
- Status
- Released
- Business model
- Buy-to-play
- Genre
- Online sandbox adventure
- Release
- —
- Platforms
- WindowsPlayStationXbox
- Developer
- Chucklefish
- Publisher
- Not yet verified
- Profile
- Full
MMO DNA
A visual fingerprint built from MMOFinder’s current verified catalog fields—not a review score.
PvE exploration and boss fights are the primary focus, with an optional PvP mode
Solo exploration and building are core, with co-op for group play
Procedural planets and deep base-building make this a strong sandbox signal
Real-time 2D action combat is recorded
Not a persistent MMO
- Starbound is a session-based multiplayer game — matches are short, instanced rounds, not a persistent shared world.
- It's catalogued here as "Online sandbox adventure" — a related but distinct genre from the persistent-world MMOs this site otherwise covers.
- It's included in this directory because it's commonly searched for by people trying to figure out whether it counts as an MMO — this page exists to give you a straight answer.
Things to consider
- Starbound is fundamentally a single-player/co-op sandbox rather than a persistent MMO with centrally hosted always-on worlds — multiplayer requires someone to host a server, and that server's population is whatever the host invites.
- Chucklefish faced public criticism in 2019 over its treatment of unpaid volunteer contributors during Starbound's development, which is worth knowing if that factors into your buying decisions.
- Update frequency has slowed substantially since the game's initial release years, so don't expect frequent new content drops.
Research record
- Last checked
- 2026-08-28
- Profile depth
- Full
- Source note
- Discovered in MMORPG.com / MMO game directories; deeper fields pending verification
What MMOFinder has checked
- Gameplay featuresStructured gameplay fields were source-checked for this profile.Verified
- Gameplay mediaTwo source-attributed gameplay images are recorded.Verified
- Source trail2 linked sources are recorded for review.Verified
- Last reviewedCatalog fields reviewed Aug 28, 2026.Verified
Coverage measures documentation completeness—not game quality, popularity or an endorsement.
How verification worksGame details can change. MMOFinder separates verified catalog fields from information that has not yet been confirmed.
Starbound relationship map
Follow verified catalog signals to another world.
Connections use current MMOFinder catalog fields—not review scores or paid placement.
Starbound timeline
A concise timeline built only from dates and lifecycle fields recorded in MMOFinder.
- —Released
MMOFinder records Starbound as released in —.
- CurrentCatalog status
Released
- 2026-08-16Research checked
Core catalog fields were reviewed for this profile.
Starbound screenshots & gameplay
Two verified gameplay images and a gameplay video for a quick look at the game in action.
Source: Verified YouTube gameplay video
Gameplay, availability and research notes
Starbound is cataloged by MMOFinder as a Online sandbox adventure. Its recorded status is Released, while the business model is listed as Buy-to-play. MMOFinder records its release year as —. Current platform data lists Windows, PlayStation, Xbox. The profile keeps uncertain fields explicit so incomplete research is not presented as established game information.
Gameplay metadata currently describes combat or multiplayer structure as 2D side-scrolling real-time combat and building across procedurally generated planets. Discovery tags on the record include Online Game, Catalog. The developer field lists Chucklefish, and the publisher field lists Not yet verified. Together these catalog fields help distinguish this title from similarly named games and provide useful inputs for MMOFinder’s filtering and comparison tools.
The Similar Games section below is generated from overlapping genre, platform, business-model and gameplay-tag signals. For a wider search, use Find an MMO, browse categories and genre hubs, or open Compare to review game profiles side by side.
If you like Starbound…
These alternatives share verified genre, platform, access-model or gameplay signals with Starbound. Connections describe catalog overlap rather than a quality ranking.
Why it connectsTerrariaThe same online sandbox adventure classification; shared online game, catalog signals.Online sandbox adventure · Buy-to-play
Why it connectsElteria AdventuresShared catalog signals, though genre labels differ (Online sandbox adventure vs. Online sandbox voxel action-adventure).Online sandbox voxel action-adventure · Free to play
Why it connectsA World of KeflingsShared online game, catalog classification signals, though genre labels differ (Online sandbox adventure vs. City-building game).City-building game · Buy-to-play
Why it connectsAscent: The Space GameBoth are part of MMOFinder's catalog, though genre classifications differ (Online sandbox adventure vs. PvE sandbox space MMO).PvE sandbox space MMO · Buy-to-play
Why it connectsBlack SquadShared online game, catalog classification signals, though genre labels differ (Online sandbox adventure vs. Free-to-play military online FPS).Free-to-play military online FPS · Not yet verified
Why it connectsGhost of TsushimaShared adventure classification signal, though genre labels differ (Online sandbox adventure vs. Single-player Action-Adventure).Single-player Action-Adventure · Buy-to-play
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