I joined the No Man's Sky train pretty late into its lifespan, during the Christmas season of 2020. The game's troubled launch is well-storied, but the sheer volume of updates it has gained continues to impress me. Voyagers is responsible for soaking up all my spare time this weekend, and the appeal is bringing players back, especially on Steam Deck. With 60% off right now, you can be part of the fun too.
Sliced from its normal price of $49.99/£49.99, No Man's Sky is just $23.99/£19.99 on the Steam Marketplace. The offer ends on September 8, 2025, giving you a few days to pick it up. If you've been on the fence about it, this is probably one of the best times to check it out. The numbers on the Steam Chart are certainly backing it up, and it's cheaper than other digital storefronts.
For any game, the Steam Deck game charts are hard to conquer. Stardew Valley always enjoys success near the top, but Hollow Knight is comfortably sitting at number one as Silksong looms. While Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy, and Red Dead Redemption 2 fight for top ten glory, No Man's Sky is beating them all. Since the release of Voyagers last week, Hello Games' RPG has climbed 42 places, currently securing the second spot.
Recording a peak of 97,517 players in the last day, Hello Games founder Sean Murray says on social media that this is the "highest number of players since launch." To put that into perspective, No Man's Sky debuted in August 2016. It may have taken nearly a decade, but the game's launch-era promises are all over the game now, without a single micro-transaction in sight.
If you didn't know, Voyagers brings a massive overhaul to ship customization and adds Corvettes - large spacecraft that you and your friends can inhabit. It's the first time players can get on board each other's ships and freely explore the galaxy together.
This follows the arrival of settlements and other major mechanic reworks, too. Much of the game's improvements are testing grounds for Light No Fire, the studio's next title.
Whether your friends are playing on Nintendo Switch 2 or PlayStation 5, No Man's Sky crossplay has you covered. I really dig that the game features cloud saves, too, which can be easily set up on Hello Games' website. More RPGs need to do this!
With Hollow Knight: Silksong set to launch this week, No Man's Sky will probably slip a few places. Especially considering how cheap the game is from the get-go. Either way, I'll see you in the stars.