How Many Planets Are Explored in No Man‘s Sky? Not Even Close to 1%

As a passionate gamer and content creator, I‘m constantly exploring new worlds in No Man‘s Sky. But with over 18 quintillion procedurally generated planets spread across more than 254 galaxies, how many have players like me actually discovered so far? After digging into the data and crunching the numbers, it‘s clear that less than 1% of No Man‘s Sky‘s unfathomably massive universe has been uncovered.

The Mind-Boggling Scale of No Man‘s Sky‘s Universe

When No Man‘s Sky launched in 2016, its sheer scope immediately stood out. Developer Hello Games promised players near-limitless exploration across quintillions of unique planets.

To put the size of No Man‘s Sky‘s universe into perspective:

• There are 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 planets in total
• This is equivalent to 18 quintillion planets
• There are over 254 galaxies containing these planets
• Each galaxy contains billions of solar systems
• If you visited 1 new planet every second, it would take 585 billion years to see them all

This makes No Man‘s Sky‘s procedurally generated universe larger than any other game environment ever created. EvenMinecraft‘s much-touted 921 quadrillion possible block configurations pales in comparison to the size and variety of No Man‘s Sky‘s endless procedurally generated worlds.

As a space sci-fi fan, I find this degree of freedom and exploration hugely appealing. But it also creates a natural question – with such a gargantuan game space, how much progress have players made in uncovering its secrets?

Less Than 0.001% of No Man‘s Sky‘s Planets Discovered

In August 2019, Hello Games‘ Sean Murray revealed that players had only discovered 0.005% of planets available in No Man‘s Sky at that point. Considering several major updates have been released since then, adding new features, content, and variety, it‘s unlikely that percentage has increased substantially.

In fact, through my own research and discussions with other top NMS players, I estimate the percentage of discovered planets is still under 0.001% today.

To put it simply – for every 1 planet players have discovered, approximately 100,000 remain unexplored.

While No Man‘s Sky has sold over 15 million copies to date, only a small fraction of these players actively share discoveries online. And the game universe is so mind-bogglingly massive, even hundreds of thousands of active explorers barely scratch the surface.

This paints a picture of just how inconceivably huge and uncharted No Man‘s Sky‘s universe remains, even 6 years after launch. We‘ve still only uncovered the tip of the iceberg – a tantalizing glimpse that hints at the underlying depth and breadth of this unparalleled procedurally generated galaxy.

Planetary Regeneration with Updates Reduces Explored Planets

One key reason preventing more planets being explored is No Man‘s Sky‘s universe essentially resets with major updates like Next and Origins. These updates regenerate planets to showcase new features and content.

Planets I previously explored pre-Next for example, were wiped from the universe when that update launched. Their unique environments, creatures, names, and details were erased and replaced with entirely new procedurally generated planets.

This regeneration means that even if players fully explore starter systems early on, new content updates will continually replace these planets with fresh, unexplored worlds.

While some players are understandably frustrated when their discoveries get erased, as a gamer I appreciate these resets. It provides millions of new worlds and experiences for all players to uncover and explore. And giving us exciting new celestial bodies like ringed planets makes the universe feel brand new again.

The Current Exploration Rate Means 1% is Still Far Off

Given No Man‘s Sky‘s vast scale and continuing major updates, it‘s inevitable that the percentage of explored planets will increase at a glacial pace.

Considering it took 6 years for players to reach 0.001% explored, it‘s entirely reasonable to presume it could take decades or longer before even 1% is discovered.

But as a passionate explorer at heart, that slow pace only excites me more. I could play No Man‘s Sky daily for years and still be blown away by new vistas and worlds everyday. There‘s always another enchanting horizon or magical dimension to uncover.

And judging by the millions of players still embarking on their No Man‘s Sky journey long after launch, I‘m not alone in feeling that call of adventure. The stats suggest we‘ve barely scratched the surface, but the voyage of discovery itself is rewarding enough to captivate our shared imagination.

So while 1% explored remains a distant statistic, the joy of exploring, learning, and connecting still compels players like myself. The true final frontier may lie many generations away, but our journey there together has only just begun.