As per the release notes over on the No Man’s Sky website,

The expedition sees players work alone and as a community to solve the mystery of the damaged Autophage heads found abandoned at harmonic camps…

We don’t want to spoil too much, but Travellers will be invited to unveil a little of the history and origin of the harmonic camps in a mystery that touches upon artificial intelligence, the will to exist, and the very nature of what it means to be alive.

Nada and Polo will be there to support and assist Travellers with the assembly of a robotic Construct, and with a communal goal that may shape the future of the universe…

Free for all platforms, Singularity will run for the next 5 weeks, and  includes new challenges, rewards and more. Among those rewards: a full-body customization set. Players will have to collect and assemble the set’s various parts.

Many more limited-time items and souvenirs will be available. Also, No Man’s Sky update 4.30 also includes a number of stability enhancements and bug fixes.

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Featured image via Xbox Wire. 

The announcement was made during Apple’s WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference) a year ago. And now, just ahead of WWDC 2023, Hello Games has made good on that promise with the inclusion of a couple enhancements, notably to the UI and in-game HUD.

No Man’s Sky is available to Mac users via Steam (with no need to pay anything extra for those who already own the game). The game will also be made available in the Mac App Store soon. Mac users will have access to cross saves, and can also cross-play with gamers on Xbox, PlayStation, Windows and VR.

That last brings us to the rumors that Apple’s VR headset, which has been long in the making, will finally be unveiled at this year’s WWDC. Likely today’s No Man’s Sky announcement is in anticipation of this. The game’s VR component is already compatible with PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index.

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What does Interceptor bring to No Man’s Sky? Answer: Corruption.

The ever-present tyrants of universe enforcement, the Sentinels, have become prey to a corruption that is spreading through their factions. Only the bravest Travellers will dare venture to forsaken Sentinel worlds to investigate.

Those that do, however, will find abandoned encampments to explore, intriguing crystals to harvest and, for the most persistent, the blueprints for a hitherto undiscovered Sentinel Interceptor starship which come in a huge variety of models.

Aside from these corrupted worlds and the new spacecraft, which will apparently be the “most varied Starship to date,” Interceptor will introduce a plenty of fixes and improvements. Among them are improvements to the PSVR2 experience including enhanced visuals and improved controls. Xbox gamers are not being left out, however, as the team at Hello Games has promised “a renewed focus on Xbox” to improve graphics and performance.

Also, there is plenty of other additional content in the form of new enemy types such as corrupted drones. New equipment includes the Hijacked Laser and the Aeron Turbojet backpack.

Interceptor Update 4.2 is the 25th major update for No Man’s Sky. The game is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and other platforms. It is available with Xbox and PC Game Pass.

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New starship and new Expedition

Fractal version 4.1 introduces an exclusive new starship: The Utopia Speeder. The new vessel will “allow travelers to skim across planet surfaces at high velocity.”

The Utopia Speeder may just come in handy when players take on the new Expedition, Utopia. In this new Expedition players can work together to “rebuild an abandoned solar system for the mysterious Utopia Foundation.” And they will do this with a new crafting mechanic exclusive to the Utopia Expedition.

New tool: Wonders Catalogue

The Wonders Catalogue is a brand-new tool to No Man’s Sky. According to the official description over on Xbox Wire,

This shows off your most incredible discoveries, from tallest mountain to strangest creature. This detailed record of your journey not only allows you to easily compare records with fellow travellers, but gives explorers new goals as they set out to find and document the universe’s most unusual sights.

Other new additions in No Man’s Sky Fractal Update Fractal Update

The Fractal Update also brings with it a reworked options menu and more accessibility features.

2022 was a big year for No Man’s Sky, which saw a number of big updates that refine the game into one of the best open world experiences to be had on Xbox Game Pass. And judging by this latest update, 2023 promises to be just as good.

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Featured image via Xbox Wire. 

The Waypoint update is a big milestone for the game. It brings literally hundreds of improvements to the game, and a whole host of new features, some of them detailed below.

• Relaxed mode: a more approachable sandbox-focused mode for players new to the game.
• Survival and Challenge: veterans will find plenty of challenge in this mode.
• Custom play style: this allows players to tweak gameplay elements to create a tailor-made experience.
• Saves: game saving is now easier and more frequent, allowing players to jump in and out of their game more readily.
• Cross Game Mode Play: matchmaking has been changed so players can see and play with players in other game modes.
• Information portal: for players who’ve been away for a while, this will provide them with a useful recap of where they were in the game.
• Streamlining: 20 major updates and hundreds of patch notes have been streamlined.
• Inventories and increased level cap: inventories have been overhauled, increasing the level cap for ships, weapons, freighters, and suits.

The Waypoint update is free of additional charge. No Man’s Sky is available on Xbox Game Pass. If you haven’t delved into the near-infinite vastness of No Man’s Sky, there has never been a better time to get started.

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“Virtually every aspect of the game has had a visual overhaul. Planets, skies, stars, creatures, the weather, space stations, and more. New technology and new art mean they look the best they’ve ever been,” explained No Man’s Sky creator Sean Murray.

If you’re playing the game on Xbox Series X|S consoles, you can expect to see detailed reflections, improved lighting quality, and more visual improvements. On PC, the game is also getting support for Nvidia’s DLSS technology, which can double the frame rate by upscaling lower-resolution images to a higher resolution in real-time.

No Man’s Sky is still free to play with Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC, and it’s also available on Xbox Cloud Gaming for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members. With the space exploration approaching its 5th anniversary in August, it’s great to see developer Hello Games continuing to improve with regular free updates.

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“Each of these events starts from a fixed point in the universe, bringing the whole community of travellers together to embark on a shared journey,” explained No Man’s Sky creator Sean Murray. The game is also adopting a new Season system with thematic expeditions that will allow gamers to unlock exclusive new rewards as they progress through exploration milestones.

In addition to Shared expeditions, this latest update for No Man’s Sky is also bringing back procedurally generated Weekend missions, a revamped in-game HUD, as well as Target Sweep, a new extension to the Analysis Visor. “Core and optional missions have been overhauled to include the Target Sweep mechanic, as well as many other improvements,” Murray explained.

No Man’s Sky will celebrate its fifth anniversary this year, and developer Hello Games said that it has many more free content updates in the pipeline. If you have yet to try it, No Man’s Sky is currently free to play with Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC with cross-play support.

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“Travelers are now able to adopt the creatures they encounter and form close bonds with them. They will travel side-by-side with you as you adventure through the universe, both as a friend and as a valuable aide on your voyage. Train them to scan for resources, mark out hazards, provide light, hunt dangerous fauna, find settlements, excavate buried treasure or even mine for materials with their own shoulder-mounted mining lasers. Creature personalities are defined by their species and ecosystem such that no two creatures are alike, and their personalities develop further as you deepen your bond with them.”

Your animal companion will join you as you explore planets and can be patted and fed, but be careful. If you encounter other travelers and their companions, your animal companions may become frightened, playful, or even aggressive base don their personality. Every adopted companion has a neural harness that is integrated into your own Exosuit. Once trained, your animal companions can perform a variety of tasks for you, including scanning for resources, digging up treasures, hunting fauna, and identifying hazards. Players who take good care of their animal companions will get collectible eggs they can choose to hatch or trade with other No Man’s Sky players.

No Man’s Sky is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, and The Companion Update is the first content update of 2021. In 2020, Hello Games released a total of six free content updates to No Man’s Sky, including the big “Origins” update. Since No Man’s Sky launch on Xbox Game Pass, the game has welcomed over 1 million new players to the game since June 2020.

No Man’s Sky is available for 50% off for Xbox Live Gold subscribers and is offered free as part of an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate combines the best of both worlds, giving you a Xbox Live Gold subscription, plus access to over 100 games on PC and Xbox console for one low price. Start playing today with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for just $1.

This next-gen upgrade will also bring support for 32-player multiplayer, which will be a first on consoles. Crossplay will also be supported with all other platforms where No Man’s Sky is already available. If you’ve already played the game on Xbox One, your save will also carry over to this upgraded version for the Series X & S consoles.

No Man’s Sky is currently free with Xbox Game Pass on Console and PC, and developer Hello Games has been releasing free content updates at a regular pace. The game already received 5 updates on Xbox One this year, with the recent Origins update doubling the amount of stuff to discover in the space exploration game.

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Here’s a look at the No Man’s Sky Origins Launch trailer.

As noted in a post on Xbox Wire, Origins is “our big annual update for 2020” and “our cadence of [game] updates has increased dramatically this year as we try and accommodate the many different play styles.” The full game patch notes are available here.

No Man’s Sky is a available for free to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on Xbox One and Windows 10. With Microsoft’s recent acquisition of ZeniMax Media and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s comments regarding buying more game studios, now might be the time to join Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

No Man’s Sky is available for Xbox One and Windows 10 for $49.99 in the Microsoft Store.

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