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SAND: Raiders of Sophie is published by tinyBuild and developed by Hologryph and TowerHaus. The game originally targeted a Q1 2026 launch on PC via Steam, which the team later narrowed to a March 2026 window. Severe power outages and air raid disruptions affecting the Ukrainian development team left key features behind schedule, and on March 26, 2026 the team confirmed the game would not release that March.

A pre-launch open Server Slam network stress test ran from Friday, June 5, 2026. At Summer Game Fest that day the developers first announced a June 10, 2026 launch, but after the Server Slam drew tens of thousands of players and exposed server-scaling problems that surfaced above roughly 4,000 players per region, the team postponed the launch on June 9, 2026. SAND: Raiders of Sophie released on June 22, 2026 as a Steam Early Access title, with a second Server Slam held on June 15, 2026 as a final check a week before launch. Between the two tests the team closed the first slam early, worked through the reported issues, and shipped server-stability and bug fixes ahead of the second slam. Players who participated in a Server Slam receive an exclusive M1866/9 "Einzel" Breechloader weapon skin in their inventory when they buy the game.

Confirmed Platforms

The June 22, 2026 date is confirmed for the Steam version. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions are confirmed platforms, announced via a console announcement trailer, but the developers have not stated whether those versions launch on the same day, and no crossplay support has been announced.

Access Model

SAND: Raiders of Sophie released into Steam Early Access on June 22, 2026, rather than as a full 1.0 release. The team chose Early Access after the June Server Slams so the community can shape the game during development, and the developers plan to publish a roadmap they will iterate on through Early Access. The game is priced at $24.99 USD (19.99 euro / 19.99 GBP) and launched with a 21 percent discount, putting it just under $20 at release.

Since release the game has been live and actively supported. The developers reported more than 100,000 players in the first four days and published the Early Access roadmap on June 26, 2026. They also shipped a server-side hotfix on June 23 and a first content update on June 26 to address launch issues, including server outages and denial-of-service attacks. See Early Access for the Early Access plan and Servers and Online for the launch-stability details.

Development Background

Development has faced challenges stemming from ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The studios are based in Lviv, Ukraine, and cited frequent severe power outages and air raid alerts as a major cause of scheduling complications during 2026. The developer Hologryph is a subsidiary of tinyBuild and previously developed Secret Neighbour. See Developers for more on the studios.