No Man’s Sky is nowhere close to winding down even nine years after it was first released — and the newest update, available June 4, adds totally new gameplay mechanics and compatibility with the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console. Even better, the Switch 2 Edition is free for players who already own No Man’s Sky for Switch.
Dubbed the Beacon update by developer-publisher Hello Games, this free update is as important for existing PC and console players as it is for prospective players receiving their Switch 2 in the mail on Thursday. The update adds what is essentially a city-builder within No Man’s Sky, “bringing towns and their management” to the game, according to a news release.
Here are the gameplay updates, in full:
Players can become town mayor and take ownership of multiple settlements. You can construct buildings and upgrade each one, with new building types like jukebox bars where you can choose the music, merchants where you can build custom starships or even ponds you can chill and fish at.
Each inhabitant can be conversed with, with their own abilities and attributes to manage. As town mayor you’ll be enlisted to welcome new settlers, resolve disputes, and make choices to create prosperity.
A well managed settlement can make their owners rich in resources, but they need to be protected. Travellers can hire a squadron of wingmen, who will now defend towns when they come under attack from roving pirates.
That means the players who enjoy the surprisingly cozy elements of No Man’s Sky will have plenty to do beyond the somewhat limited base-building options. It also adds a new element of space combat, arguably one of the biggest draws of the game, in the form of the wingmen.
As for Switch 2 support, it’s not just a box to check — Hello Games says it’s spent a year making sure the game “feel at home on Switch 2,” pushing beyond the self-described “technical miracle” that was getting No Man’s Sky on the original Switch. The fine-tuned upgrades for the Switch 2 Edition include better resolution and frame rate, high-res texture support, and higher pixel density, as well as support for touchscreen and cross-saves.
“For the last year we’ve had this secret room with some Switch 2 dev-kits from Nintendo,” Hello Games said in its release. “New platforms are always exciting and our small team has loved pushing the new hardware to its limits.”
If you haven’t played No Man’s Sky yet, or soured on it before any of the last several updates, it’s well worth diving back in despite the game’s age. In fact, its age is a boon in this case, since Hello Games has taken every opportunity to update the procedurally generated world using player feedback and ultimately getting closer and closer to realizing the true vision for the game.
I just picked up No Man’s Sky for the first time a few weeks ago (unrelated to this update, which I haven’t played yet) and have yet to reopen my other long-running games since. It’s endlessly exploratory and beautiful to look at, not to mention a testament to the devs’ commitment to their expansive, ambitious project.
No Man’s Sky’s Beacon update is available on June 4 for Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. It will be available for Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5 when the Switch 2 is released.
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