As No Man’s Sky celebrates its tenth anniversary with dozens of free updates, one has to wonder about Hello Games’ next project. Revealed at The Game Awards 2023, Light No Fire is a new open-world survival-crafting title that flips the script on its sci-fi sibling. Instead of simulating a near-endless universe, it focuses on a single planet that’s remained unexplored.
But that’s all we know, as the development team has indicated little else about the title, save for it having a “tiny team” in the background. In a recent interview with Kotaku, Sean Murray notes that the studio had plans after the reveal.
“I thought we would have chatted about it more by 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.’”
That was meant to happen at Summer Game Fest 2024 with a deep dive into the gameplay. But after seeing Light No Fire become the second-most wishlisted title at the time, Murray decided to change course.
“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?”
Lest you thought he was going to reveal anything tangible, such as when fans could expect to see more, that’s sadly not happening. However, he admits that the team has been “ready” to really showcase it for some time, and that he even plays it “most days.” You may even spot some hints about its features in No Man’s Sky’s updates.
At the end of the day, Murray is happy to go at his own pace , which is probably a good thing, given how the studio’s last game launch went. “I don’t think people realize just how ambitious it is and how crazy it is. And I look forward to people finding that out and to showing them. But I’m very happy right now just working on it in my own little cave and not having to worry about anything, trying to pretend the outside world doesn’t exist right now.”
Light No Fire doesn’t have a release window or platforms (aside from PC), but the official website notes that players will explore a “fantasy planet the size of Earth.” We’ve seen flying mounts and entire civilizations with multiplayer confirmed, but it looks like the wait for an in-depth reveal will continue.
