More People Are Playing No Man’s Sky Now Than Ever Before

The redemption arc for Hello Games’ open-world space survival game, No Man’s Sky, has continued following its latest free update, Voyagers. Initially, No Man’s Sky was one of gaming’s most hyped releases when it dropped back in 2016. However, the state of the game and lack of promised features also caused it to be one of the industry’s most intense audience backlashes on record. Since that time, the developers have buckled down to make good on the game’s original vision, an effort that has been paying off.

Hello Games head Sean Murray made an X post on Monday documenting the rapid rise in player counts following the release of Voyager, proclaiming the game now had the “highest number of players since launch” — 97,986 players, to be exact, though that number presumably went up a bit since then. With enthusiasm for the game swelling its count of concurrent players, it feels so good to be a No Man’s Sky fan, now more than ever.

Players Are Still Taken With No Man’s Sky’s Vision

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The Voyagers update had some players finally ready to declare No Man’s Sky as the definitive space simulation game. Perhaps the update’s most lauded mechanic is the introduction of fully customizable, multi-crew ships that make it possible to realize long-held Star Trek-inspired fantasies fully. Its primary competition in this area, Starfield, has a comparably lackluster player ship experience, where planet travel is done through a loading screen. Players in No Man’s Sky can walk through ship interiors and enjoy a seamless exploration experience in and out of space. Even Star Citizen, which was previously seen as a more immersive space simulator, lacks this feature. 

Voyagers felt like the culmination of nearly a decade of making good on promises to the community entirely through free updates. Any ill will that would have remained from the game’s initial disappointing launch seems to have thoroughly washed away with the move to Voyagers. Looking at recent reviews on Steam, the game is just a few points away from reaching the exalted “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating. If more players continue to log in due to hype for the new update, the game might finally see itself ranked among the top games on the platform, something that fans feel it deserves.

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The swell of support comes at a perfect time, as Hello Games is gearing up for the release of Light No Fire, which will also feature customizable ships, but in the equivalent fantasy version. Initially announced back in 2023, Light No Fire doesn’t yet have a confirmed release date, but some speculate that 2026 would be the perfect time to drop it since it coincides with the 10th anniversary of No Man’s Sky.

I’m encouraged to see a game like No Man’s Sky existing in the current era of live service monetization and broken studio promises. The game continues to improve with more ways to play, even bringing Switch 2 owners into the mix with updates that work for everyone. I hope that other studios will see how Hello Games effectively bottled player excitement, despite its desperate circumstances, and deliver a remarkable experience that they can replicate in their own projects.

Have you logged back in to check out Voyagers yet? Let us know your experiences with the new update and if it deserves the praise it’s getting from fans online.