Stars Reach
A sandbox MMORPG from the guy who helped design Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies — Raph Koster. Stars Reach drops you into a living galaxy where the planets around you actually change, and what you build stays part of a single shared universe. Hit Early Access on Steam, Aug 18, 2026.
What is Stars Reach?
Stars Reach is a sandbox MMO built around a simple, ambitious idea: the world should react to what you do. The official pitch is that you explore a living galaxy, discover new planets, build settlements, and shape environments that respond to every action. Groups of players work together to turn untamed worlds into thriving civilizations — all in one shared universe, not instanced-off shards.
It's made and published by Playable Worlds, the studio Raph Koster founded after his work on Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies — two games that basically invented the "players change the world" genre. That pedigree is a big part of why this release has so much attention. The game funded through Kickstarter and years of playtesting before today's Early Access launch.
How it plays
- Living, changeable planets: terrain and environments react to player actions — clear land, build, alter the world, and it stays altered for everyone.
- Settlement building: found and build out settlements with other players, turning wilderness into a working colony.
- One shared galaxy: no split servers for the social layer — it's a single universe the community shapes together, with persistent changes.
- Discovery and exploration: the game is built around finding new planets and surfaces that nobody has touched yet.
- MMO scale: Multi-player at the core, with the resource-gathering, crafting, and group progression you'd expect from a Koster design.
It's worth being honest about what Early Access means here. Stars Reach has been in playtests for a long time, and a real community has formed around it — but this is day one of an Early Access launch, and the game is still finding its shape. Some of the "living world" systems are clearly still being tuned. The good news if you're on the fence: $19.49 gets you in right now at 35% off, and it's the kind of game where getting in early and watching the galaxy grow around you is genuinely the point. That said, if guaranteed polish matters more than being there at the start, waiting a few months is a reasonable call.
Steam price, US store, checked Sep 26, 2026: $19.49, a 35% discount off the $29.99 Early Access base. It launched with no discount at all — the paid tiers announced earlier were $30 / $50 / $80, with $29.99 as the base entry. No Game Pass listing. Discount windows are the publisher's call, so treat the cut as temporary.
Worth a look if
- You loved Ultima Online or Star Wars Galaxies and want to see that DNA in a modern MMO
- Sandbox building and "players shape the world" is your thing rather than scripted quest lines
- You like getting into an MMO at the start of its life, when the world is still being founded
Hold off if you want a finished, polished MMO right now — this is a day-one Early Access launch. Take the full honest breakdown in our worth-it guide.
Quick facts & FAQ
- When did it release? Early Access launched Aug 18, 2026.
- What platforms? PC via Steam. Other platforms at launch unconfirmed — see our system requirements.
- Is it an MMO? Yes — Multi-player, MMO genre, one shared universe.
- How much does it cost? $29.99 at launch, no discount yet.
- Who made it? Playable Worlds, founded by Raph Koster (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies).
There's no official YouTube trailer confirmed from the store page at the time of writing — check the Steam store page for the latest trailer and gameplay clips.