Hello Games has revealed the next update for No Man’s Sky: Worlds Part 1.
This massive update for the eight-year-old space game is the biggest since 2020’s Origins update and focuses on much-requested variety and major visual improvements to the universe. These include fancy new water effects and even what appears to be gameplay inspired by Helldivers 2’s community-driven galactic warfare.
In a new development video, below, Hello Games’ development director Sean Murray made a rare appearance to discuss the Worlds Part 1 update. Murray said that the technology Hello Games developed for its upcoming new game, Light No Fire, is now being incorporated into No Man’s Sky.
“Six months ago we announced Light No Fire,” Murray said. “It’s a very ambitious game that we’ve been working on for years, we’ve learned so much and we feel like we’re bringing this technology back from the future.”
Regarding Worlds Part 1, Murray said Hello Games has completely revamped the universe with new technology, new flora, new fauna, and new gameplay. “In No Man’s Sky, what you see on screen is generated by the computer and we’re achieving a level of variety that just wasn’t possible before,” he said.
The British studio has developed new water technology capable of creating waves and reflections to give No Man’s Sky’s ocean planets a “completely new feel.” Ships can now land on water, planets have wind patterns, and waves are dynamic and react to weather conditions.
“Sometimes a storm hits and, you know, the waves come up, the clouds come together, you have the atmosphere, the wind, all this technology comes together at the same time and there’s nothing like it,” Murray said.
New surface volumes include rolling fog, rain, blizzards, and even sparks from lava. New creatures are also present in the new biomes.
The first part of Worlds brings with it a new expedition. Expeditions are timed events in which you embark on galactic journeys from one specific point in the galaxy to another. They encompass several challenges and achievements exclusive to each named expedition.
Murray said the new expedition is inspired by Paul Verhoeven’s cult sci-fi war film Starship Troopers and is “something really different.” It takes players on a journey to new planets, where everyone fights together. Progress, Murray said, is community-driven, with “super cool” new rewards. It’s a bit like the galactic warfare in Arrowhead’s hit co-op third-person shooter Helldivers 2, which itself was heavily inspired by Starship Troopers.
And finally, Murray hinted that No Man’s Sky is going to bring us even more content. “The update is called Worlds Part I because, I guess… there’s a lot more to come.”
No Man’s Sky launched in 2016 initially on PC and PlayStation 4 before coming to Xbox One in 2018, then PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S in 2020. A Nintendo Switch version followed in 2022. Over the years, Hello Games has released a long list of major updates, the most recent being Adrift.
It’s indeed a busy time for Hello Games, which, alongside updates to No Man’s Sky, is working on its next game, Light, no fireIt’s about adventure, building, surviving and exploring together, on a fantasy planet the size of Earth.
Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or in confidence at wyp100@proton.me.