No Man’s Sky Multiplayer Introduced in Atlas Rising Update, Out Today

We reported that a massive update is coming to No Man’s Sky, and now it’s arrived. Sean Murray took to the PlayStation Blog this morning to outline and introduce “Atlas Rising,” an expansive overhaul which brings several new features and a lot of new content to what turned out to be one of the most popular and most controversial games of the generation. Check out the update trailer above.

“Featuring a new central storyline players can discover more about the universe and themselves, as well as a wide array of new and improved features. Whether you’re a veteran interloper or completely new to the No Man’s Sky universe, there has never been a better time to start your journey.” The update trailer and patch notes will give you a more in-depth idea of what you can expect the next time you boot up the game, but here’s a quick rundown of all of the new features in Atlas Rising:

• 30 hours of branching story and deeper lore

• Procedurally generated guild missions

• Much deeper interstellar trading

• Star Systems have varying wealth, conflict and economies

• Overhauled Space combat controls, weapons and AI

• Portals stargates enable quick travel

• Terrain manipulation for more complex bases

• New farming and mining interactions bring increased depth

• Increased biome variety and Rare exotic biomes

• Analysis visor & discovery improvements

• Galaxy map and many other UI improvements

• New S Class ship designs

• Low altitude flight and the ability to crash your ship

• Crashed Freighters to salvage on planets

• Joint exploration

So obviously that last point is going to be the most exciting. “Joint exporation,” huh? Does that mean we’re finally getting multiplayer in No Man’s Sky? Here’s what Murray actually said in the post. For now, it sounds like we’re going to be limited to some form of in-game communication; but the system will evolve:

“Glitches in the simulation, visualised by strange floating orbs, allow players to see and communicate with up to 16 other travellers and explore the universe together. While interaction with others is currently very limited, this is an important first step into the world of synchronous co-op in No Man’s Sky.”

It’s a start, for sure. And this update proves that Hello Games is still working hard to make No Man’s Sky the game we all dreamed it would be. The company’s silence is now looking more like a positive sign instead of a negative one. They’ve had their heads down, hard at work. We’ll keep you updated on what they cook up next.