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Library/Game/No Man's Sky launch
Grade A27 sourcesHIS-01645

No Man's Sky launch

Game · 2016 · Notable

51Editable slideCertificate

A disputed launch drew 212,620 simultaneous Steam players before years of free updates.

Trailer · PlayStation on YouTube
Clip · Internet Historian on YouTube

PlayStation UK

@PlayStationUK · Aug 10, 2016

<START TRANSMISSION #NoMansSky/]> A MESSAGE FROM OUR COSMIC EMPEROR @BillBailey <END> amp.twimg.com/v/bab03489-5d8…

2.7K102
Post · @PlayStationUK on X

Sean Murray

@NoMansSky · Nov 27, 2024

Holy shit you guys - it happened 🥳 ALL REVIEWS: Very Positive 😍 Thank you Thank you Thank you❤️ You have no idea what this means to us 🙏 ht

115.2K2.1K
Post · @NoMansSky on X
No Man's Sky launch
Wikipedia (non-free, fair use)
Official legacy game screenshot hosted by Hello Games.
Hello Games
No Man’s Sky - Launch Trailer | PS4
PlayStation on YouTube
No Man’s Sky Coming to PS4 in August
PlayStation.Blog
no-mans-sky-4
TIME
Foundation Update - No Man's Sky
Hello Games
Sean Murray at the 2017 Game Developers Conference; CC BY 2.0.
Official GDC / Trish Tunney
No Man’s Sky developer Hello Games celebrates 10-year anniversary
PlayStation.Blog
212,620 people playing No Man's Sky at once makes it the biggest Steam launch this year
PC Gamer

Spread Score

How it works
Reach68Contagion35Breadth80Velocity32Longevity2051

Numbers

Launch month Steam peak; Steam Charts (lower tracker figure)
212.3K–212.6K
As of Aug 31, 2016 · Open web · Steam Charts
Observed peak date
Week of Aug 14, 2016
Aug 9 ’16 to Week of Aug 14, 2016
Platforms
6
Started on Retail
Origin
Mixed
Gaming

Mechanics

  • ControversyPrimary
  • Underdog
  • Platform jump
  • Fandom mobilisation

How it spread

Trace the origin

No Man's Sky launched to strong sales, a failed Twitch meeting and complaints about missing features. Free updates added bases and multiplayer. Fans later funded a thank-you billboard, and Steam reviews reached Very Positive.

Observed peak within the documented measurement window; not an all-time maximum. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Wikipedia views · Google searchesFeb ’16JunSepDecMar ’18Jun ’19DecJun ’20Sep ’21Mar ’23Sep ’24Observed peakOpen webRetailPressTwitchXYouTube
Open webRetailPressTwitchXYouTube

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (16)

  1. May 2016

    Sean Murray precursor · May 27 ’16

    Murray delayed the game to August, saying key moments needed more polish.[1]

    No Man’s Sky Coming to PS4 in August
    Open the first post ↗

  2. August 2016

    Hello Games / Sony seed · Aug 9 ’16

    No Man's Sky launched on PlayStation 4 in North America with a day-zero update.[2][3]

  3. TIME press · Aug 9 ’16

    TIME's launch-day review praised exploration and said players could not meet friends.[2]

    no-mans-sky-4

  1. platform jump · Aug 9 ’16

  2. commercial · Aug 10 ’16

Join free to see the other 13 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

Do this

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

Pro opens the playbook, all 10 sourced numbers and 27 sources. Start with a free account.

Join freeGo Pro · $13/mo
Origin
Mixed
Sector
Gaming
Region
GB
Launch month Steam peak; Steam Charts (lower tracker figure)
212.3K–212.6K
As of Aug 31, 2016 · Open web · Steam Charts
Evidence
Grade A

Spread the same way

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Rovio (developer and IP owner); Chillingo (original iOS publisher)

Rovio said its slingshot game sold over 6.5 million iPhone copies before Android.

6.5M sold

1 / 8

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New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.