After famously releasing in 2016 and failing to meet expectations, Hello Games turned around opinions on its sci-fi exploration title “No Man’s Sky” thanks to a constant stream of free updates that not only got the game to what was originally promised but went well beyond that.
What was once one of the most notable misfires in gaming has become one of its greatest comeback stories and is held up as something of the gold standard in terms of procedurally generated space exploration games.
Thus it is understandable that comparisons are being drawn between it and Bethesda’s “Starfield,” and now those comparisons seem to be paying off in terms of players.
According to Video Gamer, the website Steam Charts has recorded a major surge in players for “No Man’s Sky” in late August, followed by another notable increase during Starfield’s early access period just prior to release.
Player numbers for the title have fluctuated over the past year but fell to less than 6,500 in early August. That has changed, and on September 3rd, during the “Starfield” early access period, the peak player count jumped to just over 30,000 and currently sits at approximately 25,000.
Whilst there’s no conclusive proof that “Starfield” caused the surge, it’s the most likely explanation as players explore similarly themed games, with “No Man’s Sky” being the most common comparison along with others dubbing it a “Bethesda game meets ‘Mass Effect'”.
“Starfield” is currently available for PC and Xbox and is on Game Pass.
