No Man’s Sky, easily considered 2016’s most controversial game release, has hit its highest player count since launch, showing signs that the game has finally made an epic comeback after years of improvements. The action-adventure game developed by Hello Games was highly anticipated before its release, and then met with heavy criticism once it actually arrived. Now, with nine years of updates to No Man’s Sky, the game has redeemed itself.
This is proven by its highest player count on Steam since launch. As shared by Hello Games’ Sean Murray on X, the game reached 97,986 concurrent players on Steam on September 1. However, the true number is even higher. As registered by SteamDB, No Man’s Sky had 98,285 concurrent players that day, its record since its all-time peak over nine years ago. At launch, the game reached a whopping 212,613 concurrent player count.
No Man’s Sky Hit 98,285 Concurrent Players
The Game’s Current Player Count Isn’t Dropping Like At Launch
Of course, the player count record shows just how curious players were with the title at launch after years of promises about how it would be. Even so, on SteamDB, you can see a massive drop in player count shortly after, as players found themselves disappointed in the survival game. The latest record in player count, however, is a direct result of No Man’s Sky’s Voyagers update.
Also known as update 6.00, Voyagers was the latest big patch for the survival game and brought a huge list of changes and improvements to it. It was seemingly well-received by the community, as the player count didn’t drop significantly like it did at launch. Instead, players continue to come back to it every day, and it appears to be on a path of growth in that regard.
No Man’s Sky Is A Textbook Example Of Turning A Game Around
The Survival Game Is Proof Of Redemption
This is one of the best examples of a game redeeming itself in the industry. No Man’s Sky was heavily criticized at launch. Its release was built on years of promises of free space exploration with thousands of planets to visit and multiple features that would keep players engaged for hundreds of hours. When it arrived, players saw that it wasn’t exactly that.
The planets were not randomly generated, and the multiplayer function was something of a myth. Instead of giving up on the game, however, Hello Games continued to work on it, releasing several updates over the course of nine years. Now, it has not only met the promises made before its release, but it is also more complete with additionalcontent.
The latest free update for No Man’s Sky finally added a long-requested feature. Ship customization is at its best with the Voyagers update, and with the newly introduced Corvette-class spaceships, you can spacewalk and even throw yourself into black holes. No Man’s Sky has reached its highest point in terms of content quality, and if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like today, I highly recommend playing it.
No Man’s Sky
Systems
- Released
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August 9, 2016
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Animated Blood
- Engine
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Proprietary
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
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PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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Verified
