Coming hot on the heels of the Gravity Gun and other cool additions in the Remnant update from February is Xeno Arena. It adds a new arena where creatures collected from all around the game’s sprawling universe are pitted against each other in turn-based battles. Do well enough, and you get to genetically alter them to become even stronger. There’s a wide range of creatures, with varying abilities and personalities, all of which are there for the taking.

But what if some of them prove to be too adorable for you to risk their safety? Worry not, as the option for holo-battles is always there to take advantage of while your companion remains safe from harm. The update has a very long list of additions, and you’re probably going to want to see what Hello Games has to say about it over on their official site.

But if you’d prefer a more bite-sized look at what’s new, the trailer below should give you an idea of what to expect before jumping in.

No, not the Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2, but close. The Gravitino Coil is actually a new module for the Multi-Tool. On the surface, it’s a great way to pick up any magnetized junk, but you can also pluck Sentinel drones out of the air and send them flying.

Of course, all this waste will require some form of transportation, which is where the Colossus Exocraft comes in. This truck-type land vehicle isn’t just good for hauling salvage – you can install incinerators to break it down. Toss on an Excavation Blade and run through minerals and other nodes to collect their materials while moving. Naturally, its color scheme and cabins can be customized alongside other parts (including spider legs).

Between new titles, a new Expedition focused on salvaging, and much more, Remnant is yet another meaty addition to the sci-fi behemoth that is No Man’s Sky. As always, “more will follow,” so stay tuned for further updates.

In the post, he noted that Hello Games had been continuing to work on Light No Fire quietly in the background while it continued the post-launch support for No Man’s Sky. However, he did note that the new game was being worked on by “another tiny team”, which means that, while progress is undoubtedly being made, Light No Fire is still likely quite some time away.

“In the background, another tiny team at Hello is continuing at pace on our next Labor of Love, Light No Fire, and we know a lot of you are keen to hear more,” wrote Murray. “For now, it suffices to say that I am really pleased with the progress we are making and I think it’s going to be something really special.”

In the rest of the post, Murray celebrated all of the updates that No Man’s Sky had gotten over the year, shouting out major ones like Worlds Part 2, Relics, Beacon, Voyagers, and Breach. He also wrote about the N7 Day’s Mass Effect celebration update that brought with it the Normandy SR1 to No Man’s Sky.

“No Man’s Sky has now had well over 30 major updates since it launched in 2016, and the ridiculously small development team continues to amaze me with their energy and ideas, and their commitment to support the game across so many formats,” wrote Murray.

“As we look towards our 10th anniversary year next year, they are showing no signs of slowing down. We will continue as long as they are enjoying creating and the community are enjoying what they are making. It truly is a labor of love for me and for them.”

Light No Fire, originally unveiled during The Game Awards 2023, hasn’t really seen much in the way of marketing aside from its initial announcement trailer. The title has been described as taking place on a planet the size of earth, albeit with a fantastical art style that allows for more lush and gorgeous environments, as well as a variety of strange creatures for players to encounter.

Much like No Man’s Sky, Light No Fire is also slated to make use of procedural generation, as well as allow for co-operative multiplayer where players can explore the world together. The trailer used to unveil the game also featured in-engine gameplay footage.

Light No Fire doesn’t yet have a release date, but the title is likely being developed for PC and consoles. For more details, here is everything we know about Light No Fire so far. While you’re at it, also check out what the studio said last year about how No Man’s Sky wasn’t “even close” to being finished.

First up is Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt RED. It retweeted its announcement from back in October 2020. “No more delays are happening” for the highly anticipated FPS/RPG, which, naturally, wasn’t the case. It’s all the more amusing given how Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is confident about GTA 6’s new release date.

Then you have Sean Murray of No Man’s Sky fame, who simply wrote, “Every other publisher right now” with a montage of firefighters rushing through drills. And while humorous, it’s absolutely likely that other companies shift their major Fall 2026 releases to avoid GTA 6 as much as possible.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight developer TT Games said, “Looks like Batman needs to delay his trip to Miami.” Of course, you also have Devolver Digital, which is committed to releasing a game on the same date as Grand Theft Auto 6 in defiance of other publishers. “You can’t escape us. November 19, 2026, it is then.”

As for why a delay was announced so far out, Zelnick said it was for the sake of marketing, to “give consumers as much certainty as possible,” and, in case you missed it the first time, “We feel quite good about this date.”

These bestow new parts for customizing your own Corvette, including weapons, connectors, and even wedge-shaped modules. You’ll also encounter purple star systems with “deep, abyssal oceans, unearthly entities and the notoriously imposing and volatile gas giants.”

Breach also brings improvements to snapping, “more robust” collision, and the option to color your entire Corvette. This is alongside numerous bug fixes, improvements and optimizations to the base game.

No Man’s Sky is available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. It’s received numerous substantial content updates since its controversial launch in 2016, and Hello Games promises more to come in the future.

Of course, it’s also working on a new game, Light No Fire, set on a procedurally generated Earth, and which it considers a “truly open world” game.

“Highest number of players since launch,” wrote Murray on X, along with a screenshot indicating that 97,986 people were playing No Man’s Sky. While the screenshot doesn’t specify which date saw this rise in concurrent players, a quick look at SteamDB would indicate that the game had hit a peak of 98,285 concurrent players earlier this week.

Going by Steam’s official listings, No Man’s Sky is currently sitting at the number 17 spot of the most-played titles on PC, with more than 50,000 current players and a 24-hour peak of 78,259 players. The game also struck a major return to the top sellers list, sitting at number 10 in the list between August 26 and September 2. When taking revenue into account, No Man’s Sky currently sits in the 9th place of the top 100 selling games right now.

The spike in player figures can likely be attributed to the Voyagers update, which brought with it a host of new features, like allowing players to create their own Corvette-class starship from scratch. The update also gave players more customisation options, including the ability to change up their ship’s living quarters and hull, among other things.

Along with this, Voyagers brought with it the ability for players to fly their Corvette-class starship into space, and then manually exit the starship, allowing players to simply float in space. This new feature even extends as far as allowing players potentially to dive from a starship orbiting a planet right onto the planet’s surface through the atmosphere, provided the player has appropriate means to survive the landing.

A major addition to the game thanks to the ability of players getting to build their own Corvette-class starships from scratch is the new mission board. Using it, players can now register for a mission as an entire co-op crew, allowing them to get rewards based on the missions they might find and complete in the local system.

The Voyagers update also brought in some new behind-the-scenes technology to improve the game’s performance, including support for Nvidia’s DLSS 4 technology. Those playing the title through PlayStation VR2 can also make use of the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution technology (PSSR) to get better image quality while maintaining high frame rates in their VR headset. The support for image upscaling technologies also extends to Intel’s XeSS 2.

No Man’s Sky is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and the Switch 2. The title was originally released all the way back in 2016, and at the time was met with a lukewarm critical reception. Despite this, and early complaints, Hello Games has continued to develop free updates for the game, making the No Man’s Sky of today essentially unrecognisable compared to the game’s state at launch.

But that’s only the start, as players can now venture out into space from their Corvette and float outside. Of course, if you want to stand up and roam the cockpit during travel, that’s also possible. You can hover above a planet’s atmosphere and skydive out from the Corvette.

The Corvette is an extensive timesink in its own right, with numerous modules for adjusting its stats, allowing you to run lighter or heavier. It arrives alongside a new Expedition as players battle back against a horde of Sentinels. Other notable features include control rebinding on consoles, Nvidia DLSS 4, PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution support on PlayStation VR2, and more. Check out all the details here.

No Man’s Sky is available for PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Check out our feature on its long journey thus far and how its many updates have transformed the experience.

Its meteoric rise to prominence in modern gaming could serve as an inspiration to others, and as a cautionary tale to many more. For the latter, MindsEye and the poor reception of its most recent patch instantly come to mind as an interesting contrast to No Man’s Sky’s handling of a poor critical and commercial response in its early days.

Hello Games must be commended for its ability to actually listen to the feedback it received from journalists and players, and the manner in which it embodied grace in its responses. Moreover, letting its work do the talking has allowed the studio to learn valuable lessons along the way while also building a version of No Man’s Sky that’s vastly different from the one that originally made a debut on the PS4 and Windows.

The version of the game that exists now is sure to raise questions about what exactly made No Man’s Sky the game it is today. Fortunately, that’s quite easy to answer. Let’s dive in.

Adding Style and Substance

It can be quite difficult to summarize everything that No Man’s Sky has brought to the table in a slew of content updates and patches that have transformed it into one of modern gaming’s most ambitious and unique experiences that enjoys a dedicated community of returning players at every turn while continuing to bring new players into the fold.

One of the ways Hello Games has achieved this is to make the most of the additional firepower that current-gen systems have brought to the table. Its latest Beacon Update and an excellent port for the Nintendo Switch 2 are great examples that we will explore in just a little while. Each update to the game has made meaningful additions guided by one or more of its four pillars: exploration, combat, survival, and trading.

While those pillars made it a solid game to begin with, expanding on their respective functionalities has been Hello Games’ way of showcasing its ability to build on its original vision. Take the Exo Mech upgrade that went live in April 2020, for example. The addition of a hulking mechanical robot that the Traveller could pilot was a boon to any player looking to brave new worlds on its own.

However, exploring planets faster was not the only feature that the Exo Mech brought to the table. It allowed for better resource farming, which translated to better trades at space stations. It enhanced the Traveller’s survivability with improved resistances to environmental hazards. Upgrading it brought improved combat abilities, enabling it to take on threats like Sentinels and the like with relative ease.

It’s the perfect example of how Hello Games brought improvements that made players change the way they approached their experience while ensuring that No Man’s Sky continued to raise the bar for what a video game could do ahead of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S making their debut.

Keeping Up With the Times

With new consoles came great potential and great responsibilities for Hello Games. It had to ensure that its new updates made the most out of the improved graphical and technical capabilities of the next generation of consoles while continuing to remain accessible to last-gen systems.

That’s a balance that many developers attempted to achieve with varying results. Several games that launched across generations struggled to find that balance, with last-gen versions pushing aging consoles to their limits while under-utilizing current-gen capabilities, with Respawn’s Jedi: Ssurvivor immediately coming to mind as an example.

Hello Games did not let those limitations cramp its style, and No Man’s Sky made a successful current-gen debut with its Origins update laying the groundwork for Update 3.10, adding new worlds to explore alongside a long list of graphical enhancements and quality-of-life changes. With No Man’s Sky running at 4K 60fps on new consoles, everyone’s favorite space explorer just got a whole lot more immersive and engaging for players lucky enough to grab a shiny new console despite scalpers’ best efforts.

But Hello Games didn’t stop there! The Companions update followed soon after, and suddenly the Traveller’s adventures were not such a lonely undertaking as they could now take a helpful alien companion along. It was an addition that was not only nifty in terms of the in-game universe, but was one that worked outside of it as players could finally live out their Mandalorian fantasies in No Man’s Sky.

The Origins and Companions updates are excellent showcases of how Hello Games was able to identify and act on current trends in the real-world to enhance the experience it brought to the table in its fictional one. That was a talent that continued to serve it well as it looked to the future of No Man’s Sky. But wait, there’s more.

Putting the Plus in New Game Plus

No Man’s Sky obviously achieved immense popularity and a player base who largely forgot their ire at its less than stellar launch. Where another developer may have decided to move on to a new project, Hello Games decided that it was just getting started. It decided to address a crucial part of the game’s narrative, giving players a new incentive to start over after the adventure ended.

The Expeditions and Outlaw updates soon followed. Expeditions addressed the repetitive nature of the narrative loop that Hello Games had on offer at that point, with the Traveller simply restarting their adventure after either deleting or saving Atlas at the center of the game’s universe. The new update successfully achieved that goal, introducing Sandworms, which presented a unique challenge of their own. They provided a refreshing change to the game’s story, giving players more reasons to dive back into the game.

The Outlaws update added further twists to that formula, giving players the chance to become rebels whose reputations preceded them with the ability to recruit squadrons and the like. Creative and daring, the Outlaws update worked well with the addition of Sentinels, robotic companions that accompanied the Traveller on new adventures where they faced new threats, with new weapons to deal with them.

Each of these updates remained grounded in the game’s core philosophy, making each addition work well within their narrative and interactive frameworks. It allowed No Man’s Sky to become a gift that kept giving for both its players and Hello Games alike, and the game continued to be a significant presence in modern gaming – and a benchmark for other developers to try and emulate.

With the Beacon update and a Switch 2 port that has made excellent use of Nintendo’s new flagship, it seems that Hello Games is showing no signs of slowing down its efforts to make its flagship title even better. With the ability to set up and manage multiple planetary settlements serving as a major highlight, the Beacon Update showcases Hello Games’ ability to innovate on its existing product, while the Switch 2 has allowed it to breathe new life into the experience it has on offer –  a sentiment reflected in the port’s positive reception.

Going From a Bad Example to An Inspiration

Hello Games’ journey over the years is a reflection of the Traveller’s own adventures in No Man’s Sky. It’s an adventure that reflects resilience in the face of adversity and constant innovation to stay ahead of it in a manner akin to the Traveller’s need to be creative in how they tweak their gear to ensure their survival.

It reflects the ability to take inspiration from the world and use that to create advantages that withstand the tests of time and critical voices. Just like the Traveller needed to carefully navigate nuanced interactions with different alien races, the studio was able to win over those who wrote it off, creating the scope for its extraordinary vision to become a reality.

When one considers how Cyberpunk 2077 was able to turn things around thanks to CD Projekt Red’s clever handling of a poorly received launch, or Sandfall Interactive’s clever execution of an ambitious concept, one could argue that Hello Games walked so that those who followed in its footsteps could fly. That’s an achievement which is almost as great as No Man’s Sky in its current form.

It has served as a reason for developers to present upcoming titles with live gameplay, rather than promises of good things to come that may not necessarily materialize in the final product at launch. It could also be the reason other developers choose to delay a release in order to ensure it delivers the best experience possible.

No Man’s Sky deserves its reputation as one of modern gaming’s greatest comeback stories. And as the studio behind it, Hello Games deserves credit for staying true to its vision, and for having faith in its player base even when the chips were down.

We can’t wait to see what Light No Fire brings to the table. And if No Man’s Sky is any indication, it could be a reflection of everything Hello Games has learned over the years and the potential maturity of a studio that has done its loyal fans justice.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

To start with, players can now become an Overseer, managing up to four settlements across the universe. You can check a settlement’s history (including new infrastructure, Sentinel attacks, etc.) and celebrate festivals and milestones with fireworks. Taking each building into account is important since they’ll contribute to the overall happiness.

You can also find Autophage settlements run by robots, select a deeper array of resolutions for disputes, upgrade settlement buildings, add up to 18 special features, and, perhaps coolest of all, have pilots in your squadron defend a settlement against pirates.

Check out some of the patch notes below and full details here. No Man’s Sky is available for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S. The Switch 2 version becomes playable tomorrow alongside the console’s launch.

5.7 Patch Notes

Autophage Settlements

• Added rare Autophage settlements, with uniquely Autophage names, to all inhabited planets. Travellers who have discovered the Autophage lifeforms can become Overseer of these settlements.
• Players who have completed They Who Returned may receive an invitation at their settlement to visit an Autophage settlement.
• At Autophage settlements, an Autophage Synthesis Terminal is available at the town centre monument for exchanging void motes and assembling your own Autophage Staff.
• Added Autophage settler NPCs, with their own set of titles, dialogue, and thoughts.
• Added Autophage settlement visitors, with their own set of gifts.
• Autophage settlements always start with a specialist feature to decrease Sentinel attention.
• Added a valuable new variety of planetary chart to locate Autophage settlements, available from Autophage Synthesis Terminals.

Multiple Settlements

• Added support for becoming Overseer of up to four settlements.
• Each settlement you oversee now has its own clearly-named management mission, with specific details about the settlement’s status available in the Mission Log.
• Increased the robustness of the settlement management mission structure, including ensuring a settlement cannot be surrendered if an active mission requires it, and improving the user experience when cross-saving to and from a platform not supporting settlements.
• When teleporting to a settlement with a settlement management mission selected in the log, the current settlement’s mission will be automatically selected.
• It is now possible to retire as a settlement’s Overseer.

Settlement Balance and QOL

• Settlements can now support up to eighteen special features (increased from six).
• A settlement’s Overseer can now choose what resources the settlement produces. The list of choices is influenced by the settlement’s race and buildings; higher-class buildings will unlock more lucrative production options.
• Resources produced by a settlement can be directly exported for sale from the settlement’s management screen.
• The algorithm for determining a settlement’s class has been completely reworked and rebalanced. Returning players may find their existing settlements’ class has shifted slightly, but should also find upgrading to an S-Class settlement more achievable and predictable.
• Returning players will be granted the unique “Pioneer Spirit” feature at their existing settlements, available only to settlements claimed prior to the Beacon update.
• Individual settlement buildings now each provide an ongoing contribution to the settlement’s productivity and happiness levels, and some can provide specific features to boost the entire settlement.
• Individual settlement buildings can now be upgraded, to enhance the appearance and class of the settlement. The upgrade process can be started from the building’s terminal, or when prompted by the administrative terminal.
• Added a persistent terminal to each settlement building. In addition to serving as the receptacle for building supplies, this terminal also provides access to its building’s informational page and some special utilities.
• The Analysis Visor now reveals taggable markers for individual settlement buildings, making it easier to locate and navigate to them.
• Tower buildings at settlements now provide utility for scanning for points of interest on planets and in space, and generate a small quantity of navigation data each day.
• Marketplace buildings at settlements now host an envoy for the local system’s most prominent guild.
• Factory buildings at settlements now generate a Multi-Tool box, which refreshes its contents each day.
• Farm buildings at settlements now contain planters.
• Saloon buildings at settlements now allow the Overseer to prepare a menu for the facility, and to set the ByteBeat track at the jukebox.
• Landing pad buildings at settlements now provide utility for locating crashed ships, and for salvaging starships.
• Added options to build a fishing pond building at all settlements. The quality of fish will increase as the pond is upgraded (but only junk will be produced while the pond is under construction).
• Added an additional step to settlement building construction, giving the Overseer the opportunity to officially open fully-constructed buildings with a short celebratory cutscene.
• Receiving an overpayment on settlement debt now increases the settlement’s reserves, awarding a production equivalent to the excess.
• Citizens now release fireworks in response to significant events at a settlement.
• Added a history page to settlements, providing an overview of accomplishments and events throughout the current Overseer’s tenure.
• Added an informational stats page to settlers, revealing insights into their individual personalities. Specialist citizens with a particular occupation have unique pages, as do visiting members of your squadron.
• Added a Settlements Register page, providing an overview of the status of all managed settlements – including their statistics, debt status, production status, and history. This page is available from the Quick Menu, or from the Administrative Terminal in any managed settlement.
• Refreshed and improved the visual style of all pre-existing settlement UI pages.
• Significantly increased the variety of enemy types when Sentinel forces attack a settlement.
• Significantly rebalanced the frequency of Sentinel attacks at settlements, notably slowing the increase of alert level while the game is not running.
• Overseeing multiple settlements will distribute the Sentinel alert level between them, effectively meaning the number of attacks requiring player attention does not increase with the number of settlements managed.
• The swarming brood can now occasionally attack a settlement.
• Settlers with specialist jobs can now be encountered wandering around settlements.
• Members of your squadron will now scramble to defend against pirate raids, and pilots can be encountered wandering around settlements.
• Thriving settlements will now increase the wealth of their local solar system.
• Enhanced the holographic orb at the Administrative Terminal in settlement Overseer’s Offices.
• Added a new filter to the teleporter for “My Settlements”.
• Teleporting to a settlement will now place you in the Overseer’s Office, rather than by the town centre monument.
• Prevented extreme weather phenomena such as meteor showers and lava eruptions from occurring within settlements.

Settlement Management Decisions

• Increased the variety of settlement management decisions across every category.
• Expanded the settlement management decision UI to support a possible maximum four options (increased from two).
• The existing citizen dispute management decisions have been completely reworked, introducing clearer scenarios and a broader choice of resolutions.
• Increased the variety of questionable settler activities that the settlement advisory board may suggest banning or taxing.
• Added a number of new specialist citizens who can join your settlement, such as a hologram architect and an astronomer.
• Settlement management decisions can now award standing, alien vocabulary, procedurally-generated products and nanites.
• Added a new type of settlement management decision to upgrade the class of constructed buildings.
• Added a new type of settlement management decision to commission a piece of artwork.
• Added a new type of settlement management decision to name a newborn citizen.
• Added a new type of settlement management decision to utilise a settlement’s current blessing.
• Added a new type of settlement management decision to receive a gift from a specialist worker.
• Added a rare new type of settlement management decision to surrender one of your settlers for a bounty.
• Rebalanced the weighting of settlement management decisions to prioritise more interesting and positive choices.
• The leader of settler expeditions is now revealed in the request management decision, making it clearer which citizen is at stake should the expedition fail.
• The missions tracking a settler expedition now display details about what the expedition party is attempting, and the remaining expedition time is now also displayed in the Mission Log.
• At the conclusion of a settlement expedition, the Overseer will be prompted to debrief the expedition party for a report and rewards.

Base Building

• Added approximately one hundred new Autophage-styled structural and decorative base parts, purchaseable from the Space Anomaly.
• Added new sets of weathered timber, stone, and alloy materials for settlements and settlement-related base parts. Players constructing their own base with these structural parts can choose between weathered and polished materials.
• Significantly improved the snapping of structural base parts when placing them on a plane below the player’s feet.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent the Cylindrical Room Frame from snapping to other base parts.
• Fixed a rare issue that could cause terrain edits to fail to be uploaded alongside the base they belong to.

Voice Options

• Added audio options for adjusting the pitch and style for player vocalisations (such as grunting and breathing).
• Added audio options for selecting a masculine exosuit voice (in English only), or disabling the exosuit voice entirely.

Alongside 4K textures, the Switch 2 version offers support for Nvidia DLSS and Dynamic Super Resolution, increased geometry, and an improved frame rate. Touch and gyro controls are supported with increased resolutions for Docked and Handheld Mode. Murray also notes the crispness of the user interface and confirms cross-save and cross-play with other platforms.

Based on the trailer, the visual improvements bring it closer to current-gen console versions, and those who jump in at launch will benefit from almost nine years of free content updates. These include Worlds Part 1 and 2, which added new stars and planets; Aquarius and its introduction of fishing; and Relics, which brought Paleontology as a new activity.

Head here for more details on the latest update, Beacon. No Man’s Sky is also available for PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.