This might be due to some big names on YouTube/Twitch apparently covering the update.
I got recommended youtube videos by people who generally dont cover the game: ObsidiantAnt (300k subscribers) and Asmongold(3.7M) covering the update and he even mentioned that he is planning to play the game and stream it at some point. Im sure there are many more too.
Edit: looks like ObsidianAnt has made videos of NMS before, I just remember this guy making Elite Dangerous videos years ago.
Might be contributing to the heavier interest than usual.
Plus, variety is what many of the old NMS players wanted so many who dropped the game could be coming back as well.
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The popularity was definitely readily felt, I imagine that initial surge was mostly returning players, the extra surge and steady rise no doubt attributal to streamer coverage and news articles or trending positions across various sites and platforms.
Iām a suxker for stats and graphs tracking monumental moments in time and itās effects on the movement of people. Steamdb is somewhat an addiction of mine every nms update. I like to see that little spike drop when everyone gets booted off to have to download the update, and then sudden spike in player base in the lead up to that first post update Sunday.
Comparing that first update day to previous releases in the last four years (I like to compare the more frequent updates to their own section as its different in nature to what a yearly update would bring) you could already see there was a considerably larger percentage of people playing than usual. I think I predicted maybe hitting thirty thousand on peak hour Sunday.
Was not expecting 48,000ā¦ Itās been widely successful despite itās delays on other platforms and my only regret is I only have steam numbers to go off. Iād love to see how other platforms compare.
Itās not a āmy team is winningā thing. Iād be doing this if they were considerably lower too. I just like graphing human herd behaviour 
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I am resting up for the expedition. I tend to play til I pass out during expeditions. 
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Same. I havenāt come across any floating island worlds yet, I visited a known one in Eissentam to make sure I can actually see them with my legacy save. I saw it no problem, thank goodness. iāll resume my search after the expedition. I did manage to see all the other new biomes, xD
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Yup. Me too.
Iāve not gamed this much in months.
Time for a respite.
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Obsidian Ant does often make a short video about major NMS updates.
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Itās kind of funny how the āpart 1ā qualifier seems to be frequently misinterpreted as the update being called āworlds apartā. I kind of wonder how that happensā¦
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40,000 steam player peak on a Monday.
I know I said it wasnāt a my team is winning thing but woop go Hello Games GO!!!
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You are correct. I clicked on his channel and it does appear that he had covered NMS previously.
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Anyone know what it was at before this update?
My worry is the venomous side of gamers will overtake us again and review bomb the game cos worlds part 2 did a woke or said bad things about trump or something
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Well atleast we know that the generally good/reasonable ones with realistic expectations reside here in this forum.
Edit: A bit hidden for most butā¦ waitā¦ are we the Autophages of the NMS community?
Hidden to many but seen by those who are veterans to the game and/or who look hard enough. 
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I do feel like cobbled together bits most days and this place is pretty purple. Emily is VOID Mother? I think youāre on to something Jupiter.
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Can confirm, was lost in a void before being summoned back to reality via Loop16 
As a side note, is this the first major update Key Art without the Atlas being featured? I miss our Crimson overlord!
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For me, thereās no escaping them.
I got this before the game launched 
I got chased out of Reddit when I shared it I can understand, weird getting something permanent of a game nobodies played yet but the idea of the games existance and the team behind it was very inspiring to me at a time when I really needed to reconnect with my space loving inner child
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The steam community made a little love heart In todayās peaks 
Another day over 40k :0
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