We’ve made a couple of articles about No Man’s Sky, so we figured why not make another one. This game has had a rocky start, but it’s worth giving it its praise since it turned itself from something bad to something really worth a player’s money. It’s been 10 years since the game came out, and numerous updates and free DLC have come out. The creator, Sean Murray, has had something to say that made people happy.
What’s Happened?
In a recent interview, Sean Murray stated in a paraphrased way, “I don’t care about how much money we could have made with all of those free updates we gave through the years”. There have been a lot of free updates and content that the game has had during its 10-year tenure. That’s right, it’s been 10 years already, and the game is still going strong after a rocky start. It also seems that he and Hello Games have no means of stopping with the free updates. They are focused on their new game Light No Fire at the time being.
List of Free Updates and Content over the Years
This is a list of all the free updates that the game has had over the years. We probably missed a few, and we didn’t include those temporary events and even those Holiday Events. This does give you an idea of how massive and how much content was given to everyone for free.
2016
- Foundation Update
2017
- Pathfinder Update
- Atlas Rises
2018
- NEXT
- The Abyss
- Visions
2019
- Beyond
- Synthesis
2020
- Living Ship
- Exo Mech
- Desolation
- Origins
2021
- Companions
- Expeditions
- Prisms
- Frontiers
2022
- Sentinel
- Outlaws
- Endurance
- Waypoint
2023
- Fractal
- Interceptor
- Singularity
- Echoes
2024
- Omega
- Orbital
- Adrift
- Worlds Part I
- Aquarius
- The Cursed
2025
- Worlds Part II
- Relics
- Voyagers
- Breach
2026
- Remnant
- Xeno Arena
- The Swarm
Was this a good idea?
Think back to 2016 when No Man’s Sky had an abysmal release. So, in order to win the players back, Sean Murray had to do everything to fix the game, and that included this free content. It worked, and the game had a turnaround, and people were playing it again, and sales were going through the roof. By 2020, the game had already amassed a following, and positive reviews were flowing in.
One would think that by then they would have charged for any additional content. However, they didn’t, and it still worked out for Hello Games. That’s because newer people were buying the game, which contributed to more sales. Those people who were in school back in 2016 had jobs now, so they too bought their copies. That’s the beauty of games that make a comeback; years later, the revenue will flow even if they didn’t have an overflowing amount of free content.
Final Remarks
Whether it was a wasted opportunity not to charge money for the expansions, it’s no secret that the game is in good light nowadays. The continued support for the game is a good move, and more people may buy the game in the future when it runs for another 10 years or more.
