Terraform worlds, build civilizations, and shape the future of a persistent galaxy in this MMO, out today on PC via Steam
San Marcos, CA – August 18, 2026 – Today, the sandbox sci-fi MMORPG, Stars Reach, developed by Playable Worlds and led by Ultima Online lead designer and Star Wars Galaxies creative director Raph Koster, launches into Early Access on Steam.
Imagine a galaxy where every cubic meter can be terraformed, populated, and ultimately transformed. Build trade empires, tame wild fauna, and create a functioning government for an entire planet. This is the vision behind Stars Reach, a new sandbox MMORPG where players can carve rivers, melt stone into lava, harness ecological disasters, or burn entire planets to ash. In a universe shaped by the permanence of players’ actions, ecosystems evolve, wildlife goes extinct, and player-built communities rise and fall. Early Access welcomes players to come in early and help shape what the game becomes.
Harkening back to the golden age of MMOs that centered around ultimate freedom, Stars Reach asks players to forge their own path through a classless, open-ended progression system with hundreds of skills and through a galaxy that encourages creative experimentation. Across a vast simulated universe, players explore new planets, build homes and settlements, gather resources, craft, trade, fight, govern, and leave a lasting mark on the worlds they discover. Across land and space, players battle hostile enemies and defend their homesteads.
Playable Worlds’ cloud-native technology makes this kind of reactive online world possible. In Stars Reach, trees grow from saplings, lakes freeze, and caves either collapse naturally or by a player’s hand, rendering previously accessible areas now blocked. With environments capable of changing at a moment’s notice, players must think creatively, adapt to the unexpected, or devise an entirely new approach.
Led by co-founders Raph Koster and Eric Goldberg, Playable Worlds has been hard at work bringing new systems and features to the experience of Stars Reach. Prior to the Early Access launch, a number of substantial updates went live, including an improved character creator with enhanced customization options, combat refinements, and enhanced wildlife migration with increasing threat levels if left unchecked.
This version includes exploration across multiple planets, resource gathering and harvesting, exciting combat, an in-depth crafting system, trading between players, and more. It also introduces a unique threat: a planet-eating hive mind that players must cooperatively defend against. More features will be progressively added, including spaceships, additional species, factions, political structures, and PvP combat.
Stars Reach is out now in Early Access on PC via Steam with three paid tiers: the Firstlight Pack ($29.99), the Voyager Pack ($49.99), and the Cosmonaut Pack ($79.99), each offering increasing rewards and cosmetics.
About Playable Worlds
Playable Worlds, Inc. is a game studio building vast, living online worlds where players connect, explore, and make their mark. Founded in 2018 by online gaming veterans Raph Koster and Eric Goldberg, the San Marcos, CA-based studio combines proprietary cloud-native technology with deep expertise in game design, community building, and live service operations.
