The original Universe Sandbox was only available for Windows-based PCs, but an updated version was released for Windows, macOS, and Linux in 2015.
Both realistic and fictional simulations appear in Universe Sandbox, with each area of outer space being placed by default or according to the player's preference.
A visual size comparison of the largest known stars and planets can be explored, and real time animations of events like the Apophis asteroid passing near Earth in the year 2029 can be watched.
Duncan Geere of PC Gamer UK gave it an 84/100 and spoke positively of the game, "Universe Sandbox is not going to change your life.
But if you like the idea of an interactive orrery that you can rip apart and put back together in whatever way you like, and you're happy to feed it with a bit of imagination, it's hard to find a better way to spend £6.
Some of the new features include atmospheres being shown on planets, simulation of planet compositions and surfaces, dynamic and procedurally generated textures on stars and gas giants, a more realistic and graphic collision system, 3D charts in chart mode, simulation of stellar evolution, procedural detail in rings/particles, visualization of black holes, simulation of fluid-like objects (such as gas clouds, surface water, nebulae and protoplanetary disks, and planetary collisions) and much more.