GMod creator “ashamed” by new game reviews as it hasn’t taken off

Garry’s Mod creator Garry Newman has admitted he’s “ashamed” of the reception to his latest game, revealing plans to make it free-to-play and overhaul the experience.

Beginning as a mod for Valve’s Half-Life 2, Garry’s Mod used the Source engine to let players experiment with the game’s physics, characters, and assets before becoming a standalone title.

In April 2026, developer Facepunch Studios launched a spiritual successor called s&box, which uses Valve’s newer Source 2 engine and offers players more advanced tools to create and share their own games.

However, the project has struggled to win over players, prompting Newman to acknowledge that the studio made some major mistakes.

s&box is going free-to-play following disappointing launch

“The platform is not well liked, it doesn’t have good retention. I’m embarrassed by our reviews, I am ashamed,” he wrote in an October 13 blog post.

Facepunch Studios

Newman explained that Facepunch had spent too much time developing tools for creators, rather than ensuring there was something enjoyable for everyone else.

“We’re not selling an engine, we’re selling a game,” he admitted. “I’ve let everyone down that was expecting that. I accept that, and I’m sorry.”

As a result, s&box will become free-to-play towards the end of 2026, with existing customers receiving exclusive Steam inventory items.

“We don’t need the entrance fee, we need players,” Newman explained. The studio also plans to improve Sandbox mode with more NPCs, vehicles and multiplayer features.

Newman believes another major problem is that players are struggling to find worthwhile games among the growing number of user-created projects, something made worse by AI-generated content.

“My idea of a Netflix for games doesn’t work. It’s not feasible. It’s not how people discover games,” he wrote. “You can’t land people on a menu of 60 games and say have fun. That’s not a good experience.”

Facepunch will now prioritise quality over quantity, introduce an approval process for creators hoping to earn money, and make greater use of Steam Workshop.

Reflecting on the response to s&box so far, Newman added: “The negative reviews hurt me. The disdain for the project hurts me.”