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No Man's Sky vs Rust
Live Steam player count comparison, updated every 10 minutes. Both are Action / Adventure games.
Rust is currently the more played game: 83,666 concurrent players on Steam right now vs 36,663 for No Man's Sky, about 2.3× more players. Rust has been ahead for 108 days straight. Rust also has the better Steam reviews: 87% positive vs 85%. No Man's Sky is currently 60% off on Steam. Across all tracked metrics, Rust leads 8 of 10.
These are Steam players only. A game that also runs on its own launcher, a storefront of its own or on console has players this number cannot see, so read it as a comparison of Steam audiences rather than of total ones.
Which one have you played more?
Coilr members average 78.4h in No Man's Sky and 398h in Rust. Connect your Steam account and this row fills in with your own hours instead — then keeps tracking both, so you can see which one you are actually still playing.
No Man's Sky
78.4h
average of 75 members
Rust
398h
average of 77 members
See my hours in both
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Player count history
No Man's SkyRust
Tracked by Coilr since April 2026 · Steam polled every 10 minutes · methodology
Head-to-head record
Rust has had the higher daily player count for the last 108 days, every day since Coilr began tracking both games.
No Man's Sky led 0 daysRust led 108 days
Days tracked
108
Current streak
108 days
Rust
Lead changes
0
Closest gap
55%
Sep 13, 2026
How this works: each game's daily average concurrent players (from Coilr's 10-minute Steam polls), compared on the 108 days where both games have data. Whichever averages higher leads that day. methodology
| Metric | No Man's Sky | Rust |
|---|---|---|
| Players right now | 36,663 | 83,666 |
| 24-hour peak | 39,331 | 108,974 |
| 7-day average | 31,409 | 83,215 |
| 30-day average | 16,018 | 87,589 |
| 30-day trend | +60% | −15% |
| Peak (tracked) | 55,726 | 220,224 |
| Steam reviews | 85% positive | 87% positive |
| Recent reviews (3 mo) | 91% positive | 79% positive |
| Total reviews | 417,886 | 1,397,516 |
| Owners (SteamSpy est.) | ~5,000,000 | ~20,000,000 |
| Release date | Aug 12, 2016 | Feb 8, 2018 |
| Price | $23.99 (−60%) | $19.99 (−50%) |
Full stats: No Man's Sky · Rust · add more games to this comparison →
Players by month
| Month | No Man's Sky | Rust | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | Peak | Avg | Peak | |
| Apr 2026 | 12,944 | 17,194 | — | — |
| May 2026 | 8,880 | 10,545 | 95,781 | 182,883 |
| Jun 2026 | 12,843 | 26,197 | 104,094 | 220,224 |
| Jul 2026 | 9,244 | 16,049 | 104,874 | 196,421 |
| Aug 2026 | 8,240 | 14,070 | 99,848 | 198,220 |
| Sep 2026 (so far) | 17,874 | 55,726 | 85,333 | 148,276 |
Monthly average and peak concurrent players on Steam, from Coilr's own tracking (10-minute polls, hourly beyond 30 days).
Frequently asked
Which has more players, No Man's Sky or Rust?
Rust currently has more players: 83,666 concurrent players on Steam vs 36,663 for No Man's Sky, about 2.3× more players.
Is No Man's Sky bigger than Rust on Steam?
Over the last 30 days No Man's Sky averaged 16,018 concurrent players and Rust averaged 87,589. By that measure Rust is currently the bigger game.
Has No Man's Sky ever had more players than Rust?
Not in Coilr's head-to-head tracking: Rust has had the higher daily average concurrent player count on Steam on every one of the 108 days both games have been tracked.
Is No Man's Sky better than Rust?
By Steam review score, Rust rates higher: 87% positive across 1,397,516 reviews vs 85% across 417,886 for No Man's Sky. Rust has the larger player base right now (83,666 vs 36,663 concurrent). Player counts, ratings, price and trend are compared side by side above.
Is No Man's Sky growing or declining on Steam?
No Man's Sky averaged 16,018 concurrent players over the last 30 days, up 60% vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 55,726.
Is Rust growing or declining on Steam?
Rust averaged 87,589 concurrent players over the last 30 days, down 15% vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 220,224.