"If people weren't playing No Man's Sky, I don't think we would want to do updates," says Sean Murray, but he'd probably try to sneak in more content years later anyway
At a time when making and supporting a live service game is rightly seen as an arduous, dangerous challenge, Hello Games boss Sean Murray feels "lucky that we've been allowed to" make No Man's Sky content for 10 years.
Speaking with GamesRadar+ and reflecting on 10 years of No Man's Sky, Murray examines how the small team at Hello Games has reached an equilibrium that allows for this kind of long-term support. No Man's Sky isn't a conventional live service game – everything is free, for one, and it's a single-player experience for many fans – but very few games get 10 years of updates.
"Honestly, if people weren't playing No Man's Sky, I don't think we would want to do updates," Murray says. "I don't think the motivation would be there. Obviously, if no one's playing your game, it's sort of pointless, right?"
Murray points to the "early days" of No Man's Sky, back when Hello Games was more concerned with addressing feedback than adding content. His advice to the team was to picture the person who would love the game and make it "better for them."
"So I think the team does have that attitude, but you need some people to be playing the game, and we've been very lucky in that lots of people play the game," Murray adds.
10 years after launch, No Man's Sky still hangs out in the top 100 to 150 games on Steam (the only platform with such readily available player stats), which is an enviable position for almost any game. Another 10 years from now, there's no guarantee that Hello Games will still be pumping out No Man's Sky updates on the same schedule, or of the same scope, but Murray reckons it would be hard to put the game down for good.
"I could imagine us stopping doing updates for No Man's Sky at some point, and then 10 years later, I'm like, 'Let's do an update for No Man's Sky,'" he says. "I think stuff like that is great. We are in a mindset right now, in the industry, of games just being very consumable. Onto the next one. But I personally really love going back to some of my favorite games and just replaying them when they come to a new platform or something. There's a real beauty in keeping those things alive."