At the end of 2023, almost three years ago now, we saw Hello Games' next title. Our first glimpse at Light No Fire was a short one, but the original plan was to have a much deeper explanation video arrive some time in 2024. That never happened, and the only marketing we've had from Hello Games has been centred around No Man's Sky and its continuous updates.
Speaking with Kotaku to celebrate No Man's Sky's 10th anniversary, Hello Games boss Sean Murray explained why we've not seen anything from Light No Fire. It's not because the game's development is troubled, or it's still so far off release that there's no point in us seeing anything. No, according to Murray, Light No Fire simply doesn't need more marketing right now.
"We dropped a trailer like two years ago, two and a half years ago, and I had a plan of like, 'OK, we'll do this. We'll tease it. Right?' It's how I saw that 90-second trailer. And then I was like, 'OK, and now I know what we'll show next. We'll really explain the game.' I had actually intended that we were going to show it six months later, but, you know, we've like shot up the Steam wishlist charts; we're like number two on there. And I was just like, 'OK, that's enough. You know, we don't need to say any more. Why? Why do any marketing?"
Ahead of the release of No Man's Sky, there was a lot more marketing. Trailers and talk show appearances that ended up probably doing more harm than good, as they forced people's expectations to be far too high for what Hello Games had actually achieved with the first iteration of the game. It's clear the developer isn't looking to make the same mistakes again, and with the goodwill bought by years of free, DLC-sized updates to No Man's Sky, people are willing to bet on Light No Fire already, without much else being shown.
