Random: Seven Years Later, No Man’s Sky’s Reputation Is Slowly Improving

No Man’s Sky has become synonymous with ambitious developer overreach, a cautionary tale of what can happen when publishers do nothing to reign in out-of-control hype. When the game was released in 2016 and failed to meet sky-high expectations set in no small part by Hello Games director Sean Murray himself, fan backlash was the stuff of legends. But ever since, the developer has set about making amends.

Seven years later, the ambitious sci-fi exploration game is in a much better place. Alongside Final Fantasy XIV and Cyberpunk 2077, it is often pointed to as an example of developers winning back lost faith with burned players. But the road has been long and gruelling, as evidenced by a recent Twitter post from Murray himself.

Murray explains that on Steam, where such user-measured metrics are plain for all to see, No Man’s Sky now enjoys a score of 78% Positive in “All Reviews”. In 2021, the game reached a Mostly Positive (70%) rating, which took five years to do. It’s a fascinating insight into how players have come to view the game more positively over time. Murray remains hopeful: “Mathematically, each % point is much harder to gain than the last – I never thought it possible, but guys, we might hit “Very Positive” (80%) one day.”