No Man's Sky
Sure, not every space game needs them, but just for the record: seamless planetary landings are cool as hellSep 12, 2024 - PC GamerIf videogames had to flawlessly simulate everything they depicted, developers would still be stuck on the behavior of neutrinos. Games are illusory. The cool take-off and landing animations in Star Wars Outlaws are essentially live loading screens, but if it feels like we've just gone from the surface of Tatooine to outer space, they've done their job... Read more.Steam Global Top Sellers for week of 3 Sep — 10 September 2024Sep 10, 2024 - SteamDB * Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2; * Black Myth: Wukong; * NBA 2K25; * Baldur's Gate 3; * Steam Deck; * Age of Mythology: Retold; * Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6; * No Man's Sky; * Red Dead Redemption 2; * Hogwarts Legacy; * excluding free to play games View top 100 on SteamDBNo Man's Sky's Aquarius update lets you go fishing across the galaxySep 4, 2024 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunBack in July, No Man's Sky reached version 5.0 with the Worlds update, which refreshed its planetary generation to introduce more variety alongside more detailed water, clouds, and weather. We didn't write about it at the time, because I suppose re-writing the very fabric of the galaxy seemed small-time. Today's new update, however, adds fishing, and I can't not write about that. Read more No Man's Sky adds fishing, a fishing skiff, a new expedition, deep-sea diving and loads moreSep 4, 2024 - GamingOnLinuxCan someone tell Hello Games it's all good now, everyone is over the poor launch? Actually don't, I want to see just how far they will keep pushing No Man's Sky. The latest update is a goodie too. Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2024/09/no-mans-sky-adds-fishing-a-fishing-skiff-a-new-expedition-deep-sea-diving-and-loads-more No Man's Sky builds on Worlds success with another amazing new featureSep 4, 2024 - PCGamesNAs if the original rise of No Man's Sky, from widely bemoaned disappointment to cherished success story, wasn't enough, developer Hello Games recently revamped its best-in-class space sandbox game with the launch of major overhaul Worlds Part One. Seemingly still not satisfied, the team now announces its next update, No Man's Sky Aquarius, which delivers another essential upgrade inspired by a piece of fan art, and grants us a feature that's sorely lacking from rivals such as Starfield - fishing. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: No Man's Sky just leapt into the most played Steam Deck top five No Man's Sky soars again as new update prompts biggest discount yet No Man's Sky just completely refreshed its procedural universe Introducing...No Man's Sky AquariusSep 4, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsHello Everyone! Today, the Aquarius Update is free to download for existing players and introduces something we have been tempted to add ever since we stood on the shores of No Man’s Sky’s planets and looked out across their watery expanses - fishing! Full patch notes are available here. Players can now explore the universe to find their perfect waterside spot, hopping with fish - sit and relax alone with their thoughts, or with fellow Travellers looking out over alien vistas waiting for a bite. Fishing Fishing in No Man’s Sky is a uniquely relaxing experience, either alone with your thoughts or with the companionship of others. Grab a rod and your friends (optional!) and set out to explore the universe in the hunt for the perfect fishing spot. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/6c30e714843de17e23214855b3e82e06ae13251d.jpg The thrill of the catch lies in the fact that you never quite know what you’re going to pull up. The variety of aquatic life ranges vastly from common minnow-like fish to huge alien marine mammals. Catches vary greatly from planet-to-planet and dedicated anglers will have to travel far to find the rarest of fish. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/bda57d10b0d0573baeebddbd36be5225805b252a.png Exo-Skiff Venture into the ocean on your deployable Exo-Skiff. This customisable fishing platform floats over the roughest seas and has its own bespoke cold storage inventory, making it the perfect way to hunt for those fish that are only found in deep waters. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/7e9e399d2af6f8ef98d108fb154cf96dfa32a40a.jpg Explore to find rare catches Travellers who wish to complete their fishing log will have to explore a huge range of different environments and water conditions, as well as crafting specialist bait to attract rare catches and elusive legendary fish… {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/c57a9afefbafa70139649cf4de2d4fa61c5fc919.jpg And while you’re waiting patiently to catch a bite, why not dredge for messages in bottles from those that have passed this way before? Automated Fish Traps {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/8870a5af72c717292ed7c6f30d47f0494edbaf84.jpg Research the Automated Trap blueprints and establish your own autonomous floating fish farm to gather in fish while you explore elsewhere. Aquarius Expedition {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/998ba3acffbd8f803bd85cc12351dd069c4785d8.jpg The Aquarius expedition begins today, and will run for approximately six weeks. Go on a quest across the galaxy to catch fish, gather stories, and think about the one that got away… Players who complete the Aquarius expedition will earn a beautifully detailed set of deep-sea customisation parts, including a unique underwater jetpack. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/3977d16d0b0a94c68b9a82e28148aaa750525385.png New Cooking Recipes Of course, with this new-found ability to farm the lakes, seas and oceans, you will want to develop your cooking skills, with all-new recipes and ingredient combinations out there to be discovered. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/d86d4c612b400c726c4...No Man's Sky finally delivers the perfect reason to explore a few trillion planets: to go fishingSep 4, 2024 - PC GamerIt seems impossible to comprehend now, but in 1969 three government employees climbed into a rocket and blasted themselves to the moon—even though there were no fish there. They bounced around, they drove a buggy, they picked up rocks, but the journey was ultimately pointless because there were no space ponds and no moon fish to catch. Why do you think we stopped going?.. Read more.No Man’s Sky's Aquarius update brings a touch of Dredge to the cosmos by letting you become an interstellar fisherpersonSep 4, 2024 - VG247If you enjoy standing by virtual bodies of water and praying that you've picked the right worm to tempt what dwells within to take a little nibble, the latest update for No Man's Sky is definitely for you. Dubbed Aquarius, it arrives today, September 4, and is all about reeling in alien fish via a bunch of new mechanics. Following on from the pretty popular Worlds Update part one - which revamped planet biomes with stuff like fresh weather effects and more immersive water - Hello Games has been inspired by a bit of Reddit fan art to give folks the chance to embrace their inner angler. As outlined in the patch notes and the trailer below, Aquarius adds fishing to the game via new systems that'll let players "explore the universe to find their perfect waterside spot, hopping with fish - sit and relax alone with their thoughts, or with fellow Travelers looking out over alien vistas waiting for a bite." Read more No Man's Sky just leapt into the most played Steam Deck top fiveAug 2, 2024 - PCGamesNThe long term success of No Man's Sky continues to impress as, following its latest Worlds Part 1 update, it has become the fifth most played game by Steam Deck users. The Steam Deck top played chart for July 2024 shows the game has risen a massive 32 places compared to June 2024, and the latest weekly chart changes suggest it even peaked as high as number three before dropping back to number four for this week. The Steam Deck top played chart is a great way for gamers not only to see how the fate of any given game is going but also to see what new or old games might be worth a try on their own best gaming handheld. The top ten is dominated by RPG type games that lend themselves to slow casual exploration - rather than lightning fast interactions - and No Man's Sky perfectly falls into that category. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: No Man's Sky soars again as new update prompts biggest discount yet No Man's Sky just completely refreshed its procedural universe No Man's Sky is about to become the loneliest videogame in the world Steam Global Top Sellers for week of 23 Jul — 30 July 2024Jul 30, 2024 - SteamDB * Steam Deck; * ELDEN RING; * Call of Duty®; * EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6; * No Man's Sky; * Dead by Daylight; * Chained Together; * Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III - BlackCell (Season 5); * Black Myth: Wukong; * Red Dead Redemption 2; * excluding free to play games View top 100 on SteamDBSteam Global Top Sellers for week of 16 Jul — 23 July 2024Jul 23, 2024 - SteamDB * Steam Deck; * ELDEN RING; * Dead by Daylight; * No Man's Sky; * Rust; * Red Dead Redemption 2; * ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree; * Norland; * Black Myth: Wukong; * Grand Theft Auto V; * excluding free to play games View top 100 on SteamDBNo Man's Sky soars again as new update prompts biggest discount yetJul 18, 2024 - PCGamesNThe grand redemption of No Man's Sky remains one of those moments I'll always cherish. From a promising reveal to widespread launch disappointment, Hello Games continued to improve and polish its creation over the years, slowly winning back more and more fans. At this point, it comfortably sits among the best space games on Steam, outpacing the likes of Starfield for sheer depth and immersion and sitting among big hitters like Elite Dangerous and Everspace for its fantastic sense of place and the sense of exploration. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: No Man's Sky just completely refreshed its procedural universe No Man's Sky is about to become the loneliest videogame in the world New No Man's Sky Orbital update adds its most requested feature ever Для No Man's Sky выпустили большое бесплатное обновление — оно делает мир живее и уникальнееJul 17, 2024 - Gamemag.ruСтудия Hello Games не перестает радовать фанатов No Man's Sky новым контентом. Для игры представили большое обновление Worlds, которое смогут загрузить все желающие. Подробнее о нем рассказали в отдельном трейлере. No Man's Sky just completely refreshed its procedural universeJul 17, 2024 - PCGamesNNo Man's Sky is easily the biggest redemption story in videogames. Over eight years, Hello Games has taken what was once an overpromised universe simulator and delivered a plethora of new ideas, while making good on what it guaranteed before release. Between base building, mechs, crossplay, freighters, quests, and so much more NMS is now the premiere space game, and it just got even bigger: this is No Man's Sky Worlds Part 1. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: No Man's Sky is about to become the loneliest videogame in the world New No Man's Sky Orbital update adds its most requested feature ever New No Man's Sky update is free to try even if you don't own the game Introducing Worlds Part I - the 5.0 updateJul 17, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsHello! I’m here to give you a heads up about the largest No Man’s Sky update of the year so far. So much so that we’ve made the usual trailer, and also this Deep Dive video that shows a glimpse behind the scenes. Our next update is called Worlds Part I, and I’m so proud of the team here, the love they are putting into it. We are refreshing the universe with new technology, new flora, new fauna and new gameplay. Full patch notes can be found here In No Man’s Sky, what you see on screen is generated by the computer. The level of variety we are achieving is far beyond what was possible before. With every update we still want to surprise. Eight years in on this journey and we still want to do big things, and I think we’re adding things the community has almost given up hope on ever happening. It’s not just about new cosmetics for us, we want to really impact No Man’s Sky. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/7ddccb49cff7e575f2ccfc978cfcca27cfa96faf.jpg When we started No Man’s Sky, we wanted people to feel like they had stepped into a science fiction book cover. To bring us closer to that we’ve had to create a lot of new technology. New water technology can create waves, reflections. Oceans that look so different to what we’ve had previously. Ocean planets feel completely new, and ships can now land on water. Planets have wind patterns. Waves are dynamic and react to weather {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/14fde239f751048451a34f406f8cf43c8cc45e99.jpg My favourite thing in the game still might just be flying through the clouds and out into space. Clouds for us are a unique challenge, you see them from space, from planet, you can fly through them. Our new cloud tech creates detailed skies with weather conditions. You get these beautiful detailed skies, with tonnes of variety. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/61c19bb2b80e97ee60d8dcac392ef350fb5962ca.jpg On the surface of the planet we’ve added new volumetrics and atmospherics. Rolling fog, rain, blizzards, lava sparks, combine with wind and clouds. It changes how planets feel to explore, adds so much more life. Sometimes a storm hits, and you see the waves rise and the clouds gather. The new wind, the clouds, the oceans, the atmospherics all hit together and it feels like nothing else. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9164327/c90b2c2c2dd879f55fbbe221e9b212686c4b4dbf.jpg Across these new biomes, we’ve added new creatures to discover. We are pushing the level of variety that’s possible even further. It’s not enough to just add more, we want to do things that people haven’t seen before. And of course, these new creatures can all be pets and mounts. No Man's Sky is a game about exploring, so how planets look and feel is important, but what you do on those planets is something we want to add to with every update. Expeditions have become a huge part of how folks play the game. We’ve made something very Starship Troopers inspired with this one, it’s really different and it takes you on a tour of some of these cool new planets. Everyone is battl...No Man's Sky's Worlds Update part one comes with a bunch of new uber-immersive planet biomes, and a flamethrower-toting mech suitJul 17, 2024 - VG247The latest update for No Man's Sky is dubbed the Worlds Update part one, and it looks like a pretty big one, even if as you can glean from its name, there's more to come in the future. For now, you can look forward to some hugely-revamped planet biome tech that should make things extra immersive, and a new expedition involving a flamethrower-packing mech suit. This latest update follows the bunch Hello Games has already deployed so far this year, including the Omega update, the Orbital update which finally brought us ship customisation, and the Adrift update that taught us how it feels to be a bit lonely. To be fair, I'd have struggled to outdo giving people interstellar Pimp My Ride. As outlined in the patch notes for it and the trailer below, Worlds part one comes with a big focus on making planet biomes feel more immersive, thanks to some new technology Hello has developed while working on Light No Fire, and is now feeding back into NMS. Read more No Man's Sky goes 5.0 with a sweeping tech update that's 'adding things the community has almost given up hope on ever happening'Jul 17, 2024 - PC Gamert this point, I think No Man's Sky might be the most developed non-MMO in history. Hello Games is hard at work on a whole new open world the size of the actual Earth, and yet, somehow, the siren song of the studio's initially disastrous (and subsequently more than redeemed) space sim keeps pulling it back for more updates... Read more.No Man’s Sky Adrift update leaves you completely alone in its universe, except for sandworms and ghost shipsMay 29, 2024 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunWith an effectively infinite universe to fill in No Man’s Sky, developers Hello Games have certainly risen to the challenge of trying to fill it with as much stuff as they possibly can over the last near-decade, still managing to add major new features and modes eight years on from the sci-fi exploration game’s release. Next update Adrift is taking things right the way back, though, by emptying the expansive cosmos of almost everything except you, your ship and planets to visit. Read more No Man's Sky is about to become the loneliest videogame in the worldMay 29, 2024 - PCGamesNThey're different in practice, but it's hard not to draw comparisons between No Man's Sky and Starfield. Both are ambitious space games. Both arrived with a firestorm of hype. And both of them, at launch at least, were disappointing. Starfield Shattered Space could mark the beginning of a comeback for Bethesda's RPG. Eight years since launch, however, Hello Games' NMS is at the end of its recovery, securing a place in the annals of videogame rebound stories alongside Cyberpunk 2077 and Fallout 76. But the new No Man's Sky update imagines something very different. No added quests. No extra material. No...anything. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: New No Man's Sky Orbital update adds its most requested feature ever New No Man's Sky update is free to try even if you don't own the game No Man's Sky brings back all its 2023 expeditions in a holiday special No Man's Sky is about to live up to its namesake with the Adrift updateMay 29, 2024 - VG247We’re long past the launch era of No Man’s Sky, but part of what defined it for many (outside of all the broken pre-release promises) was just how lonely it all felt. Back then, NPCs were a rarity, and so many of the systems and mechanics players associate with the game today had yet to be implemented. But, what if you could jump to a time when No Man’s Sky truly was a descriptive name for the Hello Games space exploration title? Read more No Man’s Sky Had Almost Half of the Original Launch’s Player Count Return Over the Weekend on SteamJul 30, 2018 - GitHypAfter failing to deliver on numerous promises made by the developers, No Man’s Sky had one of the most controversial launches ever back in 2016.
Now, No Man’s Sky is back in the news… but this time, it’s due to the game’s very well-received “NEXT” update that was just released.
Last week, we reported on the NEXT update’s launch peak of 43k concurrent players on Steam – which at the time was very impressive considering the game’s player base has dropped from its original peak of 212k players to recently under 1k concurrent players.
But since launching NEXT, No Man’s Sky has continued to grow, and over the weekend hit a peak of 97k concurrent players on Steam. Something nobody believed would ever happen again.
NEXT isn’t the first big update No Man’s Sky has received over the past two years. After all the backlash, Sean Murray and his small team of developers at Hello Games have been hard at work adding tons of new features each year.
And while base-building, portals, vehicles, and giant freight ships were all great new features that brought back tiny fractions of the player base, it was true 4-player online multiplayer that helped No Man’s Sky return to its former glory back in Steam's top 10 most played games.
The core gameplay of No Man’s Sky is still very similar to what it was at launch, so most players will likely lose interest again. But with the developers continuing to add new content for free and the game discounted by 50% on Steam, this time more players than ever are leaving with a very positive experience.No Man’s Sky is Back in Steam’s Top 10 Most Played GamesJul 25, 2018 - GitHypWith a peak of 212k concurrent players back in August 2016, No Man’s Sky had one of the biggest launches of any game over the past few years on Steam.
Sadly, shallow gameplay and missing features like multiplayer resulted in the player base instantly declining. And within 1 month, there were under 1k concurrent players left playing No Man's Sky.
Sean Murray and his team at Hello Games stayed silent during the games troubled launch. But surprisingly, as players requested refunds and even threatened lawsuits, the dev team kept working on adding more features, believing that their actions would eventually speak louder than words.
Now, after a couple other big updates that have added new features such as base-building, ground vehicles, and extra modes, No Man’s Sky has released its biggest update yet. And with the “NEXT” update, Hello Games has finally delivered on the most requested feature since launch… multiplayer!
Yep, No Man’s Sky has finally introduced real 4-player co-op multiplayer where you can actually see other players in-game -- and even see yourself now in third person. As a result, more players than ever have returned to give the game another shot, and so far, the reviews have switched from mostly negative to very positive on Steam.
Peaking at 43k concurrent players yesterday, No Man’s Sky has cracked Steam’s top 10 most played games once again at #8. Currently ahead of popular games such as ARK, Rocket League, and Fallout 4, this latest update is the best NMS has done since launching at #3 on Steam two years ago.
Yesterday’s peak easily doubled NMS’ previous post-launch peak of 19k players last August when Hello Games released the game’s 1-year anniversary update, Atlas Rises. A promising update that still lacked a true multiplayer experience which lead to the numbers dwindling back down to an average of less than 1k players each hour as players in 2018.
The hype that the NEXT update has brought back to No Man’s Sky will likely die back down just as it has already multiple times already for the game. But it’s still good to see that both gamers and the developers aren't giving up on No Man's Sky. And with multiplayer now added, the game discounted 50% off, and free weekly content on the way, players certainly have a reason to stick around a little longer than before.
Update: Just a few days after this article was published, No Man's Sky's growth continued, hitting 97k concurrent players on Steam.No Man’s Sky Player Counts One Year After Launching on SteamAug 8, 2017 - GitHypThe little indie game that saw its hype grow to galactic proportions, No Man’s Sky, became the highest played new game of 2016 when it peaked at 212k concurrent players on Steam last year.
But one week after the controversial launch, No Man’s Sky saw its player counts plummet by a stunning 78%. Then less than two months after launch, 94% of NMS’ playerbase was sadly gone.
Things looked grim for Hello Games with all the negative feedback, refunds, and even lawsuits being thrown at the team while the game’s creator Sean Murray stayed silent. But before 2016 was over, the developers returned with NMS’ first big update that spiked the player counts by 10x to a peak of 8k players.
[caption id="attachment_281873" align="aligncenter" width="747"]
No Man's Sky Peak Concurrent Players on Steam via GitHyp[/caption]
While the base-building update helped No Man’s Sky show signs of life after the playerbase flatlined, the numbers quickly dropped back down to under 1k concurrent players. Three months later, a second big content update was released. It too brought back a similar peak of 7k players. It too dropped back down to under 1k players per hour a month later.
More recently, No Man’s Sky was discounted by 60% to $24 during the Steam Summer Sale. Yet, despite over half off the price, the player counts barely doubled during the sale. And once again, the gains were short-lived with the playerbase returning to its same core of 500-1,000 concurrent players, down over 99% from its launch day peak.
With the upcoming 1-year anniversary of No Man’s Sky, an alternate reality game called “Project Walking Titan” has lead die-hard fans on a treasure hunt hoping for new races, portals, and/or multiplayer. But at this point, it’s hard to see how even the inclusion of multiplayer could ever return No Man’s Sky anywhere near its former Day 1 glory.No Man's Sky Showing Signs of Life with Players Returning After First Big Content UpdateNov 28, 2016 - GitHypWith a peak of 212k players in a single hour on its first day, No Man's Sky set the record for 2016's biggest launch on Steam. Sadly, 2016's biggest launch quickly turned into 2016's biggest bomb as the hundreds of thousands of early adopters rapidly dwindled down to only hundreds of players per hour after two months.
Since then, things have only gotten worse for the developers with lawsuits, refunds, and the game losing over 96% of its playerbase. But shockingly, after months of silence, Sean Murray and his team at Hello Games have returned with the "Foundation Update" which has sparked the interest of PC gamers. And over the past two days since Patch 1.1 was released, the player counts for No Man's Sky have increased enough to bring the game back from ranking outside the top 1000 games on Steam to currently within the top 50.
Getting into the precise stats, No Man's Sky was averaging around 300-500 players per hour last week on Steam. After Patch 1.1, the game is now averaging 10x that number with 3,000-5,000 players per hour and a peak of over 8k players. While it's still a small playerbase that seems light years away from its record-setting peak back in August, the surge in players is proof that there is some interest left among gamers looking for more in-game content if the team can continue to release big updates in a timely manor.
[caption id="attachment_221227" align="aligncenter" width="770"]
GitHyp's No Man Sky Player Count Per Hour Data[/caption]
As you can see when looking at GitHyp's data over the past two days, there was a huge jump in player count numbers, however, comparing yesterday to today shows the numbers are already slightly decreasing with smaller peaks during prime hours. We saw a similar revival with Evolve: Stage 2 in October when Turtle Rock switched their failing competitive shooter to the free-to-play model. Yet, it still wasn't enough to save the game and the playerbase fell back down almost as quickly as it spiked up after the update.
The sheer amount of potential that No Man's Sky offers with its tech gives a glimmer of hope that Hello Games might one day deliver on their over-promised game that under-delivered, but then again, that's how the hype started and lead to the game's downfall. So it's unlikely that No Man's Sky will ever return to its high player count launch numbers unless much bigger changes are made... which, of course, the developers continue to tease.
For those still interested and not willing to give up on the game just yet like the devs, the Foundation Update brings a vast amount of free improvements to No Man's Sky such as: a new survival and casual mode, base-building, alien recruits, faster transportation options, farming, item stacking, interstellar freighters, tweaks to the interface, and more... but, still no word from Sean and the developers regarding multiplayer.No Man's Sky Has Dropped to Less Than 1,000 Concurrent Players on SteamSep 23, 2016 - GitHypNo Man's Sky was supposed to be the biggest game of 2016... and in many ways, it has been. But having the biggest drop in players of not just 2016, but of the last few years, is certainly not one achievement that Sean Murray and his small team at Hello Games were hoping to unlock... and certainly not what gamers were expecting after being promised so much from a game that turned out to deliver so little among its 18 quintillion planets.
At its peak the day it launched, No Man's Sky reached as high as 212k concurrent players on Steam. But within only its first week, the game lost 78% of its playerbase. And now, less than two months after its launch, things have only gotten worse for No Man's Sky with the game dropping to under 1,000 players per hour and only peaking at 2,000 players per hour. That's a 94% drop in just its first 42 days which has taken NMS from the #3 most played game on Steam to #132 today.
[caption id="attachment_202947" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
GitHyp’s No Man's Sky Peak Player Count per Hour Data[/caption]
Since the time of our first player count story a week after the game's launch back on August 18, Sean Murray has gone missing. His previously-active Twitter account hasn't been updated since that day and nobody at Hello Games has had anything to say other than releasing a few minor patches. The developers have even gone as far as closing topics they have control over on Steam that address concern and reference the falling player counts.
While many fans still believe there could be hope for the game with the developers originally promising more content to come after launch, things aren't looking good for the future of No Man's Sky. Ubisoft's The Division had a similar 93% drop earlier this year on Steam and despite multiple content updates, the game never recovered. Considering that there's been far more outrage geared towards Hello Games and their game's launch, it's unlikely that we'll see No Man Sky climb back up the charts and return anywhere close to its launch day glory.
Update 1/5/2017: The playerbase for NMS saw a huge increase after the game's first big update in November, however, history has repeated itself and after less than two months the game has again dropped back down to under 1,000 players per hour.No Man’s Sky Has Lost 78% of its Playerbase in its First Week on SteamAug 18, 2016 - GitHypNo Man’s Sky has been one of the most hyped up games of the past couple years... and with good reason. Hello Games' ambitious idea to create a universe on par with the size of our own known universe in a video game was both beautiful and mind-blowing when teased in previews.
Last week’s launch proved that there was just as much hype among gamers as ever with No Man’s Sky bringing in an average of 212k players at its peak and becoming the biggest launch of 2016.
However, reactions among gamers since the launch have been very mixed and there have been a tremendous amount of technical issues reported by players on PC that have caused gamers to abandon their short trips to space.
[caption id="attachment_193179" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
GitHyp’s No Man's Sky Player Count per Hour Data[/caption]
Last Friday during the No Man Sky release, player counts peaked around 212k players on Steam. Almost doubling the prior top 3 launches of 2016: XCOM 2 - 132k peak launch players, Dark Souls III - 129k players, and The Division - 113k players.
And while No Man’s Sky has continued to stay in Steam’s top 5 most played games all week, it has been quickly hemorrhaging players with a 78% decrease from its highest peak 7 days ago of 212k players to its highest peak so far today of 47k players.
Hello Games' dev team just released a patch today in an effort to try and quickly remedy many PC players' problems, but at this point it might be too little too late and the other remaining issues and controversies surrounding the ambitious new title could turn 2016’s biggest launch into 2016’s biggest bomb.
Update: The player count numbers have dropped further down to 93% in the past two weeks since launch and the developers are now locking threads on Steam that source player count stats.
Update 2: The player count numbers have dropped even further down to 98% now a month after launch and the developers have remained silent since the original post date of this article.
NEXT isn’t the first big update No Man’s Sky has received over the past two years. After all the backlash, Sean Murray and his small team of developers at Hello Games have been hard at work adding tons of new features each year.
And while base-building, portals, vehicles, and giant freight ships were all great new features that brought back tiny fractions of the player base, it was true 4-player online multiplayer that helped No Man’s Sky return to its former glory back in Steam's top 10 most played games.
The core gameplay of No Man’s Sky is still very similar to what it was at launch, so most players will likely lose interest again. But with the developers continuing to add new content for free and the game discounted by 50% on Steam, this time more players than ever are leaving with a very positive experience.No Man’s Sky is Back in Steam’s Top 10 Most Played GamesJul 25, 2018 - GitHypWith a peak of 212k concurrent players back in August 2016, No Man’s Sky had one of the biggest launches of any game over the past few years on Steam.
Sadly, shallow gameplay and missing features like multiplayer resulted in the player base instantly declining. And within 1 month, there were under 1k concurrent players left playing No Man's Sky.
Sean Murray and his team at Hello Games stayed silent during the games troubled launch. But surprisingly, as players requested refunds and even threatened lawsuits, the dev team kept working on adding more features, believing that their actions would eventually speak louder than words.
Now, after a couple other big updates that have added new features such as base-building, ground vehicles, and extra modes, No Man’s Sky has released its biggest update yet. And with the “NEXT” update, Hello Games has finally delivered on the most requested feature since launch… multiplayer!
Yep, No Man’s Sky has finally introduced real 4-player co-op multiplayer where you can actually see other players in-game -- and even see yourself now in third person. As a result, more players than ever have returned to give the game another shot, and so far, the reviews have switched from mostly negative to very positive on Steam.
Peaking at 43k concurrent players yesterday, No Man’s Sky has cracked Steam’s top 10 most played games once again at #8. Currently ahead of popular games such as ARK, Rocket League, and Fallout 4, this latest update is the best NMS has done since launching at #3 on Steam two years ago.
Yesterday’s peak easily doubled NMS’ previous post-launch peak of 19k players last August when Hello Games released the game’s 1-year anniversary update, Atlas Rises. A promising update that still lacked a true multiplayer experience which lead to the numbers dwindling back down to an average of less than 1k players each hour as players in 2018.
The hype that the NEXT update has brought back to No Man’s Sky will likely die back down just as it has already multiple times already for the game. But it’s still good to see that both gamers and the developers aren't giving up on No Man's Sky. And with multiplayer now added, the game discounted 50% off, and free weekly content on the way, players certainly have a reason to stick around a little longer than before.
Update: Just a few days after this article was published, No Man's Sky's growth continued, hitting 97k concurrent players on Steam.No Man’s Sky Player Counts One Year After Launching on SteamAug 8, 2017 - GitHypThe little indie game that saw its hype grow to galactic proportions, No Man’s Sky, became the highest played new game of 2016 when it peaked at 212k concurrent players on Steam last year.
But one week after the controversial launch, No Man’s Sky saw its player counts plummet by a stunning 78%. Then less than two months after launch, 94% of NMS’ playerbase was sadly gone.
Things looked grim for Hello Games with all the negative feedback, refunds, and even lawsuits being thrown at the team while the game’s creator Sean Murray stayed silent. But before 2016 was over, the developers returned with NMS’ first big update that spiked the player counts by 10x to a peak of 8k players.
[caption id="attachment_281873" align="aligncenter" width="747"] No Man's Sky Peak Concurrent Players on Steam via GitHyp[/caption]
While the base-building update helped No Man’s Sky show signs of life after the playerbase flatlined, the numbers quickly dropped back down to under 1k concurrent players. Three months later, a second big content update was released. It too brought back a similar peak of 7k players. It too dropped back down to under 1k players per hour a month later.
More recently, No Man’s Sky was discounted by 60% to $24 during the Steam Summer Sale. Yet, despite over half off the price, the player counts barely doubled during the sale. And once again, the gains were short-lived with the playerbase returning to its same core of 500-1,000 concurrent players, down over 99% from its launch day peak.
With the upcoming 1-year anniversary of No Man’s Sky, an alternate reality game called “Project Walking Titan” has lead die-hard fans on a treasure hunt hoping for new races, portals, and/or multiplayer. But at this point, it’s hard to see how even the inclusion of multiplayer could ever return No Man’s Sky anywhere near its former Day 1 glory.No Man's Sky Showing Signs of Life with Players Returning After First Big Content UpdateNov 28, 2016 - GitHypWith a peak of 212k players in a single hour on its first day, No Man's Sky set the record for 2016's biggest launch on Steam. Sadly, 2016's biggest launch quickly turned into 2016's biggest bomb as the hundreds of thousands of early adopters rapidly dwindled down to only hundreds of players per hour after two months.
Since then, things have only gotten worse for the developers with lawsuits, refunds, and the game losing over 96% of its playerbase. But shockingly, after months of silence, Sean Murray and his team at Hello Games have returned with the "Foundation Update" which has sparked the interest of PC gamers. And over the past two days since Patch 1.1 was released, the player counts for No Man's Sky have increased enough to bring the game back from ranking outside the top 1000 games on Steam to currently within the top 50.
Getting into the precise stats, No Man's Sky was averaging around 300-500 players per hour last week on Steam. After Patch 1.1, the game is now averaging 10x that number with 3,000-5,000 players per hour and a peak of over 8k players. While it's still a small playerbase that seems light years away from its record-setting peak back in August, the surge in players is proof that there is some interest left among gamers looking for more in-game content if the team can continue to release big updates in a timely manor.
[caption id="attachment_221227" align="aligncenter" width="770"] GitHyp's No Man Sky Player Count Per Hour Data[/caption]
As you can see when looking at GitHyp's data over the past two days, there was a huge jump in player count numbers, however, comparing yesterday to today shows the numbers are already slightly decreasing with smaller peaks during prime hours. We saw a similar revival with Evolve: Stage 2 in October when Turtle Rock switched their failing competitive shooter to the free-to-play model. Yet, it still wasn't enough to save the game and the playerbase fell back down almost as quickly as it spiked up after the update.
The sheer amount of potential that No Man's Sky offers with its tech gives a glimmer of hope that Hello Games might one day deliver on their over-promised game that under-delivered, but then again, that's how the hype started and lead to the game's downfall. So it's unlikely that No Man's Sky will ever return to its high player count launch numbers unless much bigger changes are made... which, of course, the developers continue to tease.
For those still interested and not willing to give up on the game just yet like the devs, the Foundation Update brings a vast amount of free improvements to No Man's Sky such as: a new survival and casual mode, base-building, alien recruits, faster transportation options, farming, item stacking, interstellar freighters, tweaks to the interface, and more... but, still no word from Sean and the developers regarding multiplayer.No Man's Sky Has Dropped to Less Than 1,000 Concurrent Players on SteamSep 23, 2016 - GitHypNo Man's Sky was supposed to be the biggest game of 2016... and in many ways, it has been. But having the biggest drop in players of not just 2016, but of the last few years, is certainly not one achievement that Sean Murray and his small team at Hello Games were hoping to unlock... and certainly not what gamers were expecting after being promised so much from a game that turned out to deliver so little among its 18 quintillion planets.
At its peak the day it launched, No Man's Sky reached as high as 212k concurrent players on Steam. But within only its first week, the game lost 78% of its playerbase. And now, less than two months after its launch, things have only gotten worse for No Man's Sky with the game dropping to under 1,000 players per hour and only peaking at 2,000 players per hour. That's a 94% drop in just its first 42 days which has taken NMS from the #3 most played game on Steam to #132 today.
[caption id="attachment_202947" align="aligncenter" width="800"] GitHyp’s No Man's Sky Peak Player Count per Hour Data[/caption]
Since the time of our first player count story a week after the game's launch back on August 18, Sean Murray has gone missing. His previously-active Twitter account hasn't been updated since that day and nobody at Hello Games has had anything to say other than releasing a few minor patches. The developers have even gone as far as closing topics they have control over on Steam that address concern and reference the falling player counts.
While many fans still believe there could be hope for the game with the developers originally promising more content to come after launch, things aren't looking good for the future of No Man's Sky. Ubisoft's The Division had a similar 93% drop earlier this year on Steam and despite multiple content updates, the game never recovered. Considering that there's been far more outrage geared towards Hello Games and their game's launch, it's unlikely that we'll see No Man Sky climb back up the charts and return anywhere close to its launch day glory.
Update 1/5/2017: The playerbase for NMS saw a huge increase after the game's first big update in November, however, history has repeated itself and after less than two months the game has again dropped back down to under 1,000 players per hour.No Man’s Sky Has Lost 78% of its Playerbase in its First Week on SteamAug 18, 2016 - GitHypNo Man’s Sky has been one of the most hyped up games of the past couple years... and with good reason. Hello Games' ambitious idea to create a universe on par with the size of our own known universe in a video game was both beautiful and mind-blowing when teased in previews.
Last week’s launch proved that there was just as much hype among gamers as ever with No Man’s Sky bringing in an average of 212k players at its peak and becoming the biggest launch of 2016.
However, reactions among gamers since the launch have been very mixed and there have been a tremendous amount of technical issues reported by players on PC that have caused gamers to abandon their short trips to space.
[caption id="attachment_193179" align="aligncenter" width="800"] GitHyp’s No Man's Sky Player Count per Hour Data[/caption]
Last Friday during the No Man Sky release, player counts peaked around 212k players on Steam. Almost doubling the prior top 3 launches of 2016: XCOM 2 - 132k peak launch players, Dark Souls III - 129k players, and The Division - 113k players.
And while No Man’s Sky has continued to stay in Steam’s top 5 most played games all week, it has been quickly hemorrhaging players with a 78% decrease from its highest peak 7 days ago of 212k players to its highest peak so far today of 47k players.
Hello Games' dev team just released a patch today in an effort to try and quickly remedy many PC players' problems, but at this point it might be too little too late and the other remaining issues and controversies surrounding the ambitious new title could turn 2016’s biggest launch into 2016’s biggest bomb.
Update: The player count numbers have dropped further down to 93% in the past two weeks since launch and the developers are now locking threads on Steam that source player count stats.
Update 2: The player count numbers have dropped even further down to 98% now a month after launch and the developers have remained silent since the original post date of this article.
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