No Man's Sky NEXT update introduces real multiplayer, weekly challenges and more

No Man’s Sky is now more of what it was meant to be on launch.

Up NEXT – winning back the hearts of No Man’s Sky fans. The huge, much-awaited update called NEXT launches tomorrow, on July 24, making NMS relevant again. Along a handful of general fixes there come two cocks of the walk: an actual multiplayer mode, and a weekly patch schedule.

Those weekly updates, Hello Games devs explain, will focus on community challenges. So far those were carried out by the gamers themselves, and using only their imagination. Now people from Hello Games are stepping in by making the game more engaging with tasks groups of space-conquerors will try and complete. With such team-player altitude, gamers are expected to glide through the galaxy in order to complete goals set by the developers.

After the release, No Man’s Sky was a wreck by all standards. But now things begin to look up.

No monotony ahead, though (especially with fast-travel portals at your disposal) – Hello Games promise challenges are both diverse and worth it. Completing any of them gives the player access to special items. Moreover, these can’t just be bought with real-life currency, as No Man’s Sky leaves no door open for microtransactions. Also, these weekly updates won’t replace or postpone any other major content updates, the developer emphasizes.

And just in case your head is spinning – Hello Games thought of that, too. A brand new website dedicated solely to No Man’s Sky called Galactic Atlas is live now. Use it to learn everything about weekly updates and the new NMS itself – or to mark points of interest on the interactive map of the galaxy, and so on.

Next step – No Man’s Sky becomes Steam bestseller.