No Man's Sky is getting new biomes, pretty rainbows and more tomorrow in a free update

Update: Hello Games has officially announced Visions, another large update for its massive interstellar romp, No Man's Sky. It's also coming very soon. Sean Murray posted the trailer in a tweet today, along with a release date. It will launch tomorrow, bringing salvaging, archaeology, new worlds and, most importantly, rainbows to No Man's Sky. 

Original story: Hello Games is preparing to roll out the third No Man's Sky update for the year in the form of 'Visions'. While it's not yet officially announced by the studio, an unlisted video has emerged on YouTube detailing the many updates and additions the expansion will deliver.

The biggest focus is on environment diversity. "Exotic new worlds make exploration more exciting than ever," claims the trailer, while existing planets will be more "varied, vibrant and colourful". The trailer features the text "5x planetary biomes", but I'm not sure whether that means there are five times more than there used to be, or just five more. 

Also, folks: there will be rainbows. But if rainbows are too nice for you, expect harsher environments and climates where "precious new materials" can be foraged. Skies and "atmospherics" are being improved, too, and there will be more numerous anomalous planets.

It's not all about looks. You'll be able to dig for rare alien skeleton remains, and you'll also be able to collect rare alien artefacts with which you can decorate your base. On that note, there will be more base parts added, and you'll be able to construct celebratory fireworks too. 

Some other major points include "bizarre and otherworldly" new lifeforms, procedural crashed freighters, corrupt sentinel drones, community missions, new emotes and salvageable alien scrap.

There's no word as yet on when the update will roll out. It follows the release of Next back in July, which was one of the most comprehensive updates the game has received yet.

Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.

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