what other games/developers do you think could learn from this? We'd love to see what you think has the potential, possibly for more videos.

Meanwhile Rockstar: Best I can do is next-gen upgrade with no changes for 30 bucks

When developers actually care about a game and listen to their player’s base. A rare thing to see nowadays.

One time while playing No Man's Sky, I was exploring a system approximately 50 thousand LY away from my home system. I found a kid who just started playing and was absolutely loving it, we spent the entire day just exploring the planets in that system, by the end of the day, he was rich with units and had a really cool exotic ship. He and I are still friends to this day, and we still play No Man's Sky together. It's a great game when it comes to teamwork, it's an amazing experience and it's not a cash grab. No Man's Sky's currency system depends on how long you play and how you play. There are 3 currency types, that being Units, Nanites, and Quicksilver. Units and Nanites are relatively easy to get but Quicksilver has a bit of a catch. Quicksilver is obtained by completing missions at the Nexus which is at the Space Anomaly. The Space Anomaly is the Hub for Travelers, Travelers are what you and every other player are. No Man's Sky is a very underrated game but I guarantee in the next 3 updates or so, it will have hundreds of game companies falling below and it will be getting loads of attention. I'm a Derelict Explorer in No Man's Sky which basically means I explore Derelict Freighters. Derelict Freighters are Freighters that had "Biological accidents" which caused dangerous biological entities on the ship to escape and infest the entirety of the ship. Derelict Freighters are jackpots for Travelers looking for stuff to sell, there's a crate full of loot around every corner, you just have to be careful not to awaken the infestation. Going through a Derelict Freighter can be really unsettling and scary at times, it reminds me of Dead Space, which is exactly why I made my traveler look like Isaac Clarke.

"some people will forever look at the devs as liars and con artists" The difference is intent. NMS did commit to their mistakes but I, personally, never got the feeling of ill intent. It just felt like "idiots that bit off more than they could chew". Empty promises. A dream. (looking at you, Star Citizen) They have redeemed themselves over and over and over by now. They overcame their BS and metaphorically transcended into what they are now: extremely committed developers with the best possible outlook. "What is better? To be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?" I think everyone deserves the chance to truly redeem themselves through hard and honest work.

Key thing you mention: the developers took that money and dumped it right back into development. Whenever I'm a little underwhelmed by a change they make to it, I remind myself that the ONLY money I've ever spent on this game was the original purchase price back in 2016. None of the NMS DLC has been paid DLC. That in itself sets Hello Games apart and it's something other developers could really learn from.

I played in VR just for less than a hour, I have to say that going into a spaceship, take off, cruise the space and land in another planet, in VR, was one of the coolest things I've done playing video games

Just bought the game a week ago and Im addicted. Im still trying to comprehend how vast the open space is. Hello Games did more than we could ask for. They have my eternal respect

One of the greatest gaming experiences out there.

A lot of people didn't get told the story about how over Christmas everything they had was destroyed in a flooding of their office. and they were able to salvage what they released. they were trying to push back the release to add more to the game before release but playstation basically told them to release regardless. so yes. shit launch. but they have fixed a lot and have brought back their vision, and that dedication to the player is something that needs to be repeated by others.

I bought it at launch, knowing that it wasn’t worth the hype around it, but I liked the concept. It’s a game I return to every now and then, 6 years later. The soundtrack has become one of my favorite albums, even when I’m not playing the game. The community of this game has to be one the nicest there is, just taking a look at the NMS subreddit is a breath of fresh air. People there seem to just enjoy themselves and that’s what gaming should be about.

Played it when it first came out. Definitely left a lot to be desired, but if you looked you could see the potential. Coming back to it after 7 years is mind blowing. Just amazing, and they are still providing updates.

Just picked the game up last week for the first time ever and wow I’m impressed. I love it, see myself playing it for long in the future and I just want to say thank you to everyone who stuck with it to make it the masterpiece I’ve discovered today

I held onto my PS4 copy in good faith that the developers had good intentions and I wanted it to be good because I've always loved the idea. Moving on 6 years later and I've now given both my PS4 and No Man's Sky game to my best friend who wanted to start playing games (she's 40 years old and never owned a game console in her life). I jump on my PC version of the game and we explore the universe together every weekend. We both absolutely adore this game to it's core.

Even after 6 years it's still getting constant updates, absolutely love their dedication

I remember doing a quest that led to a broken ship, at this point I still had the beginner ship so when I saw the ship I knew I had to have it. With whatever I had on me at the time, I made it air worthy, even with most of its systems broken I got that thing in the air and rode all the way back to my base with my friend. This was possibly one of the coolest moments I had in a video game where I felt like I carving out my own story as a space traveler

The absolute devotion to keep pushing and not give up on it is commendable. Even when people were saying “this doesn’t make up for it” they kept working and shelling out FREE updates. There are 20 FREE major updates this game put out. They are LEGENDS

honestly this showed what makes a good game. The devs listened to their fans and fixed all the bad things together with tons of improvments. No "it's good in the long run", no grab and run. Straight honestly and actual actions instead of empty words

This game is absolutely next level in VR: almost feels like a real vacation - a place I've really visited.

They deserve a medal for actually not abandoning the game

This game reminds me of a journey through life. Falling over well trying to walk, tripping over well running, not slowing down in time and ploughing your bike into a fence as a kid. But you get back up, you try again, you keep going and eventually you succeed. What people love about no mans sky is the human factor, we don't always get it right first time. But you can try again, not give up and keep moving forward. And ignore what people say about you, because it doesn't matter to them, it matters to you.

It's nice to see how far the game has progressed. It would've been received better in the beginning had they not over promised. I'm enjoying the game nowadays.

Crazy I’m legit playing NMS and scrolling through YT then I see this. Over 500+ hours. I leave the game sometimes but always find myself coming back every now and then but definitely during a new expedition. Congrats to HelloGames for all the recognition it has deserved for everything they’ve done to the game since launch. Thank you for continuing to add to a game for free.

I remember being so sad when I found out this game was coming out and I couldn't play it because I didn't have a decent computer. It was everything I love in exploration. Then it came out and it was terrible and I was glad I didn't play it. Now it's 2022 I have a computer that can play it and I'm happily chugging along exploring planets finding ships building bases and learning alien languages. Is it the game I imagined, no, but I couldn't be happier with the comeback story of No Man's Sky. If more companies were doing things like this instead of churning out endless mediocrity and never changing anything we would have a much better gaming community

No man's sky and cyberpunk will be the turnaround stories of how to be with fandom and create a product worth the praise

I was a day 1 player and I'll say Hello Games DEFINITELY redeemed themselves! I would most def support their next game because it's clear what they are capable of AND the long time support and love they've put into it. This is a company that listens and truly cares what the fans think and want. They care about their reputation. Everyone makes mistakes, but not many people clean up the mess they made.

The progression of No Man's Sky is perhaps one of the most amazing rides I've ever had with a video game. It's been quite the rollercoaster of emotions, happy to have made it.

I had purchased No Man's Sky only just a few months ago in 2023. However, the game just sat on the shelf because I hadn't done the research and wasn't sure what to expect. Hearing of Starfield releasing this year hyped me up, until I learned it was only for PC and Xbox consoles, and even locked at 30fps for consoles. So I finally just decided to try out No Man's Sky, and I am so impressed with the game. I keep discovering new things to do every-time I enter the game. Fortunately I am entering the game at a time when all the dlc content and updates have occurred, so the game to me is a massive fun exploration. Almost every direction I turn presents opportunities....and I haven't even left my first system yet! The things that I wanted to see in Starfield are not there at all. However, No Man's Sky has these things which include: ability to adopt companions and ride them, manual travel from planet to space, MULTIPLAYER, and probably so much more! I was looking for a Space game to settle on for years to come, and I am pretty enthusiastic that No Man's Sky filling that position. Thanks for the video too! I wanted to see how much work had been done on the game after release and am excited to learn they kept working on the game to make it the incredible experience it is. Time to get back to more exploring, see ya'll in Space.

Trying to get a couple of my friends back into it who had it when it released and haven't went back because of how it released. I've played it over the years and really love how they've turned it around. Thank you for the video. I shared it with them to hopefully improve their attitude towards it.

What not many seem to talk about with Sean's appearance on late night talk shows is that they weren't publishing the game entirely on their own. Sony Interactive Entertainment helped them with publishing their product and organized the entire off-development public reception of it. Sean never wanted to pretend to play the game on late night, but Sony's suits pushed for it to make pre-purchase sales. So many people hated on Sean directly when he was backed into a corner by a media behemoth he had no chance of swaying. It wasn't entirely his fault. They made a deal with the devil to get the game out and they were manipulated because of that. Then there was the flooding of their offices. In the end, Hello Games are exactly the kind of developer company us gamers look up to, because despite their sacrifices, they still strive for years to make the end product they originally promised. I for one appreciate that immensely.

That little clip of Anthem (3 seconds) was priceless. Thank you Jake, for still showing it as an example not to follow on videogame creation. EA really dropped the ball with it...

This game has beyond redeemed itself. You truly are exploring a rich, vast and endlessly interesting UNIVERSE along with your fellow man. Finding your first planet that has been heavily colonized into cities is just a WOW moment as a player. Digital manifestations of the human mind, like Minecraft, except WAY more complex, imaginative and fucking FUN. If you haven't played, get on this. Now. xD

Played this game when it came out and I gave up on it. Just downloaded it yesterday and it is a completely different game, this game quickly became one of my favorite games

I got into it late but in a world of let downs, seeing a gaming company stick to the script and produce something so fleshed out after so long.. it's honestly a breath of fresh air

Final Fantasy 14 and No man's sky had the BIGGEST turnarounds ever.

I feel so lucky to have gotten into this game when I did, a few months ago. I got to experience something so much bigger than I ever could have expected, and it is amazing. I could genuinely get lost in these worlds for a long, long time. It’s shocking to see how far it came from the beginning.

As a veteran NMS player who has milked the game for pretty much all it's worth I can officially say that from the story to the base building to the space anomaly to the endless discovery to the land combat to the space combat to all of the wierd and wild things to all of the other things you can do to the completely unlimited possibilities, this game was an unbelievable experience from start to finish. The story behind it is as good if not better than the story within it. It just goes to show that perseverance and determination can redeem almost any piece of crap into something that is a breathtaking experience. Sometimes things just need a second chance. Props to you Hello Games, the fact that you took what was already a good game and turned it in to one of the best on the market when you have only a team of about 15 people and when you could've just taken the money and left a mediocre game with so much potential mediocre is an astounding achievement that, at least in my eyes, will always put you up there with the biggest developers and companies.

Wow I was a day-1 buyer. I played the game for a couple of months and really enjoyed it and then uninstalled it and never revisited. I’m seeing a lot of comparisons to star field now which led me to looking up some current gameplay of no man’s sky. The game looks incredible now! Definitely diving back in now

As a game developer, I'll always say that I respect Hello Games more than most studios. Most studios would have folded with a release like that, I've never seen a studio try so hard fix their game. I wish Anthem would have done the same, but you know. EA

I played this game around Christmas time with the Nintendo Switch and this game just got me hooked. I never saw how bad it was on release but I'm glad the developers listen to us and not steal our money.

I just got into the game and it's so immersive I wish I was living in this universe... A good game will do that for you and the dedication that Hello Games put into No Man's Sky is indicative on the passion and the love for it! I'm so glad it's finally the game that it was promised to be!

I have been with them since day one, but I know I have had my on and off streaks. They are very inspiring and wish other companies put in as much effort as hello games. Almost 6 years since it’s release and it’s just been improvement after improvement even if it’s little. I can honestly say that even though it was a very rough release they are one my favorite game developers.

No man’s sky had a totem of undying. It truly revived itself and honestly, how the devs work on their games, it could be one of the greats in future.

Was there when it launched and stopped playing for the reasons mentioned. My friend told me it had changed vastly since and I am hook and feel that the game now has that something special I wish it did back then. Really happy I came back to the game and especially that the developers didn’t give up on it. Other companies should take note of this journey, looking at you Anthem.

I love this game. Seeing it grow into something special has been a lot of fun for a few years. I still play it regularly and it's one of my favourite games ever. Best comeback story in gaming. They still aren't finished with it either. I think it's better than they initially promised and Hello Games fell victim to what they wanted to make versus how much time it would take with the small team they had and the pressure to get the game out. So glad they stuck it out and gave us an all time classic game.

As a long term NMS player, I can say they more than delivered on the original promise of the game. All of this content, and no microtransactions or battle passes.

I bought No Man's Sky on day one and still actively play it, it's been quite a ride seeing how well the devs have evolved the graphics and mechanics. They didn't take the money and run, but instead forged ahead and turned everything around. Thanks for this documentation of that history, nice job!

Been traversing the universe since it’s release! I honestly loved it since day 1 and it just got better and better over time! What a great developer being so dedicated to its fans!

It's impressive how the devs really care about their game and their community, it's awesome how they started from a terrible launch to an amazing game. They even used the money they got from the launch to make the game we have today. And I love the VR gameplay even tho it needs some bugfixing

I went from hearing about this game and its horrible launch..to later playing it and having an absolutely AMAZING experience I will always remember. I started out stranded on a lush planet with a crashed and broken ship..to ending up a mega rich storm crystal mining tycoon with more credits than I knew what to do with, a massive armada that I could send off in every direction to earn me more and a badass living alien ship that took me SO LONG to get that it truly meant something to me. Games that can leave that kind of mark on you deserve a special spot in the history of gaming. Thanks for the memories.

I love how they kept their word. No other company has done this like they did and they just really didn't quit until they had it perfect. It's really a work of passion

Devs of No Mans Sky reminds me of GSC Game World, they too struck a deal with the devil that almost destroyed the entire studio, they ran out of money and worked for almost a year without pay in a post-Soviet factory that was halfway falling apart, they lived in their studio as many could not afford housing, they worked their arse off to salvage a game that they were basically told "Either you cut something, or your studio is done" and they complied, while STALKER ShoC never lived up to what it was suppose to be, it still went down in history. No Mans Sky is right up there, its developers show us they have passion, they are driven by passion, they could have taken the money and run away but they did not, they care more about developing a game they love near and dear, than to live like aristocrats.

I dont normally spend money on games, but this one looks so beautiful. Im sold.

The absolute CRAZIEST thing to me about this game and really any other out there is the fact that people in the game have created their own ENTIRE communities, home planets, colonizing parties, even fricken LANGUAGES!!!! its mind blowing the actual Empires that people have made, they all have federations and officials and capital buildings and cities and all of the fixings its insane.

If and when they add ship customization, that is really gonna make the game. I think it will get so much more life to it. it is a highly requested feature.

Dude, your YT channel is the absolute best. I love it.

It's an amazing redemption story. What it really brings home though, is how utterly ruthless this industry generally is - we never expect this because we rarely ever experience it. I'm not a huge fan of NMS, for all it's bells and whistles the same fundamental issue I've always had with the gameplay loop remains. But Hello Games (and to a significant extent SOE) do deserve all the praise for their consumer-driven heroism in a business environment that sticks to the Friedman doctrine like glue.

My cousin talked me into it and I was hesitant because I was familiar with the drama. But I love it and jump in at least once a week. It’s a very satisfying, soothing, dynamic experience.

I recently got back into this game and it is AMAZING! I am extremely excited that even THIS WEEK they released yet another new update! It's so good to see the developers continuing to make progress and they aren't being scummy about it and charging like 30 dollars for each new update as DLCs because you KNOW they absolutely could and I really commend them for not going down that route!

I replay once every two years or so, and by then I've forgotten most of the details and am always wowed by the expanded content. And I really don't replay games overmuch, so it speaks to how much potential this game really had and how they are seizing this potential successfully. I've never regretted the original spend.

I’ve enjoyed the game since it came out, just keeps getting better

Mid 2023 and they are STILL kicking out free updates and content. Kudos, they are a throwback to the REAL game devs

I just started playing the game recently, I have about 10 hours in and it's been pretty fun. Although I'm still trying to figure stuff out and it's kinda fun

I was just playing last night for the first time in a while - it is truly overhauled, and I love it! You know a game is good when you're at work and it's all you can think about.

I was satisfied with this game a few patches ago, and it's more than made up for the terrible launch in my book. The fact that we're still getting more updates this many years later is a testament to the studio and their vision for their game.

I’ve played other space sims like Elite Dangerous, etc. At the present, NMS blows them all away in terms of amount of content and bang for your buck. I was a day one buyer and like many others was underwhelmed, but I have kept going back over the years and I must say it’s the one space sim that I haven’t gotten tired of and is my favorite among the bunch.

Hey I want to thank you for posting this video - I was one of the disgruntled that shelved No Man's Sky after the dismal launch and forgot about it. I accidently came across your video and now I am having the most fun I've ever had on my computer!!

I’m genuinely just starting to get back into this game. Absolutely incredible what they’ve done

Internet Historian, Did a really great job on telling the story on how this team manage to pull the impossible. I was personally inspired on picking up on my worst and failed projects and attempt to recover them. they did the greatest and the most possible comeback in the game development. The darkside about this is that most developers think its ok to release a half-assed game. like that cyberpunk where most of the budget went to keanu avatar. The keanu was great but the rest of the game is a flop.

This is INSANE!! I knew it was overhauled and looked great but I never actually took a look! This summed it up great. Thanks!!

Just got the game two weeks ago, having tons of fun. Honestly it has really impressed me. I love the starting exp.

Wow, I remember this game falling flat when it launched and totally forgot about it until now. Pretty amazing that the developers stuck with it and eventually produced a great game!

When it added VR I went in & it’s like Top 5 VR game ever. Feels amazing in VR to run around a planet, jump in ship, take off, fly to another planet. Yes, I really feel like a spaceman

Thanks to this video, I updated and reinstalled my copy over the weekend... then played for nearly five hours. Thanks for the heads-up... I'm really enjoying it.

I’ve played since around the Atlas Rises update and even then I felt like I had my money’s worth, but the sheer amount of content that’s been added since has just been astounding. It’s got so much to offer and anyone looking for a space sim should take some time to try it out.

I started playing this again early this year. I was blown away by how much they have added, it's much closer to the vision they pitched all those years ago and far more entertaining

Other companies thereafter sort of followed this type of release formula, releasing early - over promising, under delivering, and ultimately failing at the launch. However, the one thing that hello games did get right was that they took it upon themselves to SERIOUSLY deliver as much as they could from release and on... For free. AND without even actually shelling out any empty corporate roadmaps or repeating the same mistakes with their major updates.

i needed more of that trex walking, atleast 5mins

The update I want to see is enabling players to pilot their own freighters.

when the game came out i was fairly convinced i'd just been conned. triple A pricetag for a game with nothing that was shown, there was no multiplayer, no character customisation, no space battles, it was literally just "farm materials so you can fly to the next planet to farm materials there." but now it is one of the most fun VR games out there, i can spend hours building bases, its so good.

This video was a real nostalgia trip. I remember each of these updates and how the game slowly became a game I was proud to play with a community I’m proud to be a part of.

The game still has so much potential! Can’t wait to see what the future has in store for this game ❤️

I came to this game at NMS NEXT, bought it with my friend, he got bored after couple hours I stayed grinding for 200+ hours, loved the game but it felt empty in the end. Reinstalled it back in 2024 and its now more fun that even, definetly recommend! Thought it still far what been promised, so bear that in mind.

Bought it in 2016, never stopped playing despite the lack of content at first The space exploration alone had me hooked Thank you Hello Games for keeping us happy

This game's community is probably the friendliest I've come across

I had an Atari, I’ll be 40 in September. I just started this game a couple weeks ago, I heard about the bad launch and I follow the gaming community everyday as a personal hobby. This game is spectacular I gotta say, like wtf else can you ask for? If you forget all the hype and just sit with this game you can feel the heart put into this, the vision. From pong to this, shit gets me all emotional as an old gamer, the torch is getting carried in spectacular fashion. Cheers.

I have only just played no mans sky for the first time very recently and im loving it. The very first time i took off into space will be one of those moments in gaming that will stick with me for a while

I saw the hype back in the day, and knew it just cannot live up to it, so I ignored the game for years and just laughed at the results when it finally came out. Then I was introduced to Internet Historian back in 2020 and watched his "The Engoodeding of No Man's Sky". Not only was that an eye opener about the difficult situation Hello Games found itself in, but also got me to buy the game DRM-free on the next sale. I played for a while enjoyed it, but trailed off playing relatively shortly, though kept it installed always expecting "one day I'll play again". Since then I saw multiple updates, which I expected to be paid DLCs, but no... it always installed and updated, no extra cost. It is truly a game made with love, passion, and despite it's rocky launch, integrity.

Recently joined my friends in a galaxy and we already have dumped over 100 hours in total together, because it’s just that damn fun. It’s not perfect of course but the enjoyment of the music, the ambience, and the amount of exploration that’s truly possible. My wonder of exploration is more than I originally expected even when I was hyped for the games first release date.

I bought this game rcently during the autumn sale on Steam.. And No Man's Sky is one of my favorite games already'.

Bought it yesterday and man it’s crazy how much it’s changed I’m definitely planning on pumping hours into this

I just wanted to point out that from a micro view every "small thing" people have asked for that most games would ignore has mad it into the game. From sand worms to space whales we really have gotten all we asked for and more.

I WAS ONE OF THOSE RARE TYPES, WHO ACTUALLY ENJOYED THIS AT LAUNCH AND STILL DO. THIS AND VALHEIM ARE 2 OF MY FAV GAMES

I got this on Gamepass not long ago. Man, one of the most beautiful, therapeutic games I have ever played.

I really really hope they keep No Mans Sky going for at least another 5 years; my son is just shy of 7 and has taken over my ps4 save since I moved to pc. Wonderful experience to share with him

The photo mode in this game is one of my favorites to play around with. I think it was the Beyond update where I jumped in. Although I don't play it as much these days, it's still one of my favorite games to come back to when there is a major update.

I only bought the game about a year ago. I had been on the fence for a long time but I eventually cracked because of all the positive reviews people had about the state of the game now as opposed to how it was at launch. I really enjoyed it. It's not a game I could play for hours and hours on end but also one of those I can pop back into from time to time to do some exploring, check out a few new planets, see what's new... I am pretty amazed every time when a new update is announced. It's like the developers will never stop adding more content to it :D

I’ve been playing NMS since 2016 and I loved the concept so much that I kept checking and sometimes playing the initial small updates but after like 1.5 I was hooked and play it to this day

Very good review! I installed it on my XBox last week just because of this video and now I'm addicted to the game. The game is much better now and what I expected from it was also different. It's a lot of content and a lot of stuff to do, I'll probably keep playing it for the next years.

I’m someone who loves space games (Elite:Dangerous, etcetera) and was interested in this but thankfully I don’t buy games blind, I wait for reviews for the exact reason why I gave NMS a miss. On principle I told myself I’d never buy this after they did their customers dirty. Having said that, I eventually caved and bought it a few months ago because of their amazing redemption arc. They deserved a second chance and I have to say, it’s a great game. All free updates, too.