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After a last minute change to the release plan, new extraction shooter Sand: Raiders of Sophie is off to a roaring start on Steam. Publisher tinyBuild is touting huge returns within hours of the game going live, though not without more problems as the devs continue to put out fires left and right.
On the back of a big showing during Summer Game Fest, Sand was due to come out on June 22. This would've followed a server slam that started after the event, but feedback made it apparent to collaborating studios Hologryph and TowerHaus that going straight into 1.0 wasn't ideal for the FPS, prompting a pivot into early access instead.
A bold move, but one that's proven correct for the team and the game itself. Alex Nichiporchik, the CEO of tinyBuild, broke down how the launch on June 22 went for the first 12 hours on Twitter. So far, Sand's brought in one million dollars in gross revenue - not a bad start whatsoever.
12 hours into launch- $1m gross - dealing w massive DDOS attacks - reviews hovering at around 60% positive due to the DDOS- working on it, can’t lose if you never give up- sleep is overrated https://t.co/jrsZnNcMB7June 23, 2026
Sadly, gameplay's been hampered by DDoS attacks, adding considerable amount of stress as people work to keep things stable behind-the-scenes. The Steam reviews have taken a hit as a result, Nichiporchik says, but hard hours are being put in to remedy the situation.
"Working on it, can't lose if you never give up," he posts. "Sleep is overrated." While I admire the confidence and integrity, I would like to point out that sleep is definitely not overrated. It's appropriately rated in many instances, and often underrated, if anything, and should not be disregarded.
The Steam reviews haven't started rising just yet, but as it's been just two days, I'm going to guess the to-do list is long, and currently ever-growing. The game, set on a desert planet, involves using a walking base to explore and fight others for precious supplies. Think Cowboy Bebop meets Howl's Moving Castle. It's a novel concept, and people are clearly into it, let's just hope we get to it reach full potential soon.
