Hello Games has announced that No Man’s Sky will officially add multiplayer support in a free update – as well as launching on Xbox One – on July 24. The update will arrive as No Man’s Sky NEXT, which aims to be a large overhaul of the controversial space game that originally launched in 2016.
“We’ve been playtesting multiplayer for the last 6 months, and the game has evolved into a very new experience that we think the community will enjoy,” writes lead designer Sean Murray. “That’s always been the potential I think everyone could see in what we were making, it’s been a lot of hard work, but thanks to the team and the community we are so glad to finally able to make it a reality.”
Multiplayer details are teased out in a single paragraph. Playing with both friends and strangers will be possible, though exact numbers weren’t given. Multiplayer won’t necessarily be co-op in nature, as players can either help or hinder each other. Shelters and colonies can be built together and shared as a team. Players can engage in space battles and race across exotic alien planets.
When No Man’s Sky launches on Xbox One it will include the three previous major updates (Foundation, Pathfinder, Atlas Rises) as well as NEXT.
No Man’s Sky launched in Fall 2016 on PC and PlayStation 4 as an ambitious indie space exploration game that was heavily hyped. It was infamous for being shrouded in mystery, even down to whether or not the game actually had multiplayer (it did not). Widespread outrage and hatred followed, as well as a massive amount of refunds, creating one of the biggest gaming controversies of the year. Read our review.
But Hello Games persisted. Over the years they’ve addressed bugs and launched major content updates, adding huge features like base-building and land vehicles. No Man’s Sky NEXT is shaping up to be their biggest update yet.
No Man’s Sky is currently available on PC and PlayStation 4. It’s coming to Xbox One on July 24, along with the multiplayer NEXT update. It’s rated T for Teen.
