In terms of most disastrous launches of this generation, the only games that give No Man’s Sky a run for its money is Star Wars Battlefront II and maybe Fallout 76. But not really. No Man’s Sky didn’t just get swallowed in controversy when it launched in the summer of 2016: it received endless, vitriolic hate, lawsuits, and even law enforcement was beating down its door at one point. Saying it was a mess simply doesn’t do the situation justice. But here we are — almost three years later, and No Man’s Sky has completely turned it around.
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No one will ever forget the launch of No Man’s Sky, but people have forgiven it thanks to the robust post-launch support from its small, but passionate, team in the UK, Hello Games. Lead by Sean Murray, the game’s creator, No Man’s Sky is not only talked about positively now, but it’s used as a benchmark of how to flip the narrative around on a game and to come back from a problematic launch. It’s actually probably one of the greatest comeback stories in video games ever, and everyone loves a good comeback story.
With this new reputation, Murray was invited to host a panel at GDC to talk about game development and how to essentially “come back.” Beyond providing tons of interesting insight and valuable information, at one point, Murray reveals that No Man’s Sky is one of the best-selling new IP, ever.
“No Man’s Sky, when it released, and also still two years later, has sold incredibly well,” said Murray during the presentation. “It’s gone on to be one of the biggest-selling news IPs of all-time, which sounds very weird to say out loud.”
Murray goes on to note that even to this day, the game is selling at a rate that most AAA games would be happy to get just at launch, suggesting that the momentum of multiple, big updates and all the positive press has helped the game a lot. And this is perhaps the most interesting news here. It was obvious No Man’s Sky sold a ton of copies initially, it had insane levels of hype. But to think that one of the most controversial games of all-time has also sold incredibly well during its post-launch period is crazy, and a testament to the work Murray and co. have put in these past couple of years.
No Man’s Sky is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For more coverage on the popular exploration meets survival game, click here.
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