No Man’s Sky edges out Madden for August’s most popular game videos

No Man’s Sky dominated the game videos posted in August on YouTube.

That’s not necessarily the biggest surprise, considering how much controversy surrounded the game’s launch. But it is a pretty good indicator that sales must have been good for the Sony exclusive that debuted on August 9.

The game edged out Madden NFL 17, which took second place and is a usual bestseller during the month of August. One of the surprises is that Batman: The Telltale Series came in third place.

I thought Deus Ex: Mankind Divided would be higher on the list, as it was the biggest new game to debut during August on the PC and consoles. But it was a late launch, debuting on August 23.

Pokémon Sun and Moon commanded sixth place, even though that game isn’t coming out until November 18. But that likely got a boost from the frenzy around Pokémon Go, a smash hit mobile game that has been downloaded more than 500 million times.

Here’s the full list.

1) No Man’s Sky
2) Madden NFL 17
3) Batman: The Telltale Series
4) Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
5) Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
6) Pokémon Sun and Moon
7) NBA 2K17
8) World of Warcraft: Legion
9) Titanfall 2
10) Destiny: Rise of Iron

YouTube's top ten games of August 2016.
YouTube’s top ten games of August 2016.

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.