How Does Hello Games Make Money

Edit Story

Jun 14, 2019, 06:49am EDT |

'No Man's Sky' Fans Are Crowdfunding To Thank Hello Games - And It's The Right Thing To Do

Matt Gardner

A British writer covering indie and retro gaming, esports, and more.

This article is more than 2 years old.

Sometimes, you've got to hold your hands up and give credit where credit is due. One game developer, which has atoned for its sins in ways I certainly never expected, is now being thanked by the wonderful community it's worked hard to develop.

Since the somewhat disastrous release of No Man's Sky nearly three years ago (August 9, 2016), the tiny team at Hello Games has gone on a rollercoaster ride, dedicating themselves to post-launch support and turning a small cult following into a great fanbase. During that time, it's built on the failed promises of its first release, going above and beyond to create something much better than many ever predicted.

It's this hard work that the /r/NoMansSkyTheGame subreddit rightly believes is worth celebrating.

No Man's Sky fan Cam G has set up his first-ever GoFundMe page on behalf of the group, which is taking out a billboard just a couple of miles from the U.K.-based developer.

In his GoFundMe pitch, Cam G explains: "Hello Games has put in a heroic effort to get NMS to where it is today. As a community on r/NoMansSkyTheGame, we'd like to express our thanks."

With a $1,750 target, the campaign–which, at time of writing, has reached $3,066–aims to raise money to "print and install a billboard in Guildford […] within walking distance of the Hello Games Ltd office." The "very simple design," which uses the NMS typeface to say "THANK YOU HELLO GAMES", is open to change–though the current idea has already gone down very well with fans.

As a massive No Man's Sky critic in the past–I disliked it so much, I sold the game on the same day I bought it–I see this campaign as incredibly important for two reasons.

Firstly, it's rare that a games company, after releasing something so widely panned by top-tier reviewers and players alike, will directly respond to fierce criticism by closely listening to feedback and acting on it accordingly–especially so long after the title's debut.

This wasn't a simple patch job; practically speaking, they created a second game. Given the size of Hello Games, and the dejection many of the team must have felt during those rocky first few months, it's important to support, reward and inspire them to maintain this incredible attitude with future releases.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, it's wonderful to see people in the gaming community being overwhelmingly nice for no reason, other than a simple desire to show gratitude for something they loved–something that brought them together. The world as we currently know seems to thrive on divisiveness and polemicism, and a wholesome bonding exercise like this one is truly welcome.

With the remaining money, the community hopes to "buy a case of beer and lunch for the team"–though as things stand, it could probably pay for a week's worth of meals.

The next available time slot for the billboard is a two-week period starting on August 12. The way the campaign's going, we could see the billboard becoming a much more permanent fixture–a very fitting tribute to a company that itself guaranteed a permanence for its first triple-A IP.

Follow me onTwitter.Check outmy website.

Matt Gardner

Print
Reprints & Permissions