No Man's Sky NEXT trailer teases third-person perspective, multiplayer, visual overhaul

No Man's Sky's NEXT update is its "largest update so far", so reckoned developer Hello Games earlier this year. It's due next week—Tuesday, July 24—and has a new trailer. Feast your eyes on that above first, and we'll discuss what's new below. 

NEXT brings with it NMS' long-requested multiplayer support, unlimited base building and, as you can see above, improved graphics. The space explore-'em-up is now fully playable in first or third person—both on foot and inside your ship.

"Team up with a small team of friends and explore the universe together, or be joined by random travellers," says Hello Games on the game's much-anticipated multiplayer. "You can help friends to stay alive, or prey on others to survive. You can build tiny shelters or complex colonies that are shared for all players. 

"Fight as a pirate or a wingman in epic space battles with friends and enemies. Race exocraft across weird alien terrains, creating race tracks and trails to share online. The character customisation allows you to personalise your appearance." 

The developer explains curious adventurers can now assemble and upgrade fleets of frigates, which can be commanded from the bridge of their freighter. You can then send your fleet out into the vast expanse, or use them to explore specific systems. You can invite pals on missions too, says the dev—all of which allows for a "truly custom capital ship." 

Hello Games describes its NEXT update as an incredibly important one, but also "just another step in a longer journey". If you fancy taking the next step with them, No Man's Sky's NEXT is due July 24. 

Deputy Editor, PC Gaming Show
Latest in Action
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft backflips, says Assassin's Creed Shadows will support Steam Deck at launch, but I doubt I'll actually want to play it there
Two rising ronin facing each other
Rise of the Ronin is another crappy PC port, performance patch coming 'soon'
GTA 5 characters
GTA 5 publisher takes legal aim at account-selling site for allegedly raking in 'millions in revenue', while recruiting hackers to keep its cogs turning
Monster Hunter Wilds palico
One of the biggest victories of Monster Hunter Wilds' streamlining is I don't have to deal with those awful gimmick fights anymore
A young witch watering a smiling mushroom in a magic garden
Here's a roguelite dungeon crawler Steam reviewers call 'a botanical Diablo' and 'like Cult of the Lamb' except you manage a mystical garden
Chatacabra from Monster Hunter Wilds
The latest Monster Hunter Wilds event quest gives piles of Armor Spheres for hunting a Chatacabra, making this a very bad week to be a frog in the Forbidden Lands
Latest in News
spectre divide
Spectre Divide and its studio are shutting down after just six months: 'The industry is in a tough spot right now'
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft backflips, says Assassin's Creed Shadows will support Steam Deck at launch, but I doubt I'll actually want to play it there
Henry from KCD2 wearing nice outfits
'Diversify your fashion endgame' with this Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 mod that gives Henry fly new gambesons, pourpoints, and caftans
Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset
There's hope yet for Classic Offensive after its Steam rejection: The team behind the Counter-Strike 1.6 revival mod is in touch with Valve about its 'concerns'
Recently appointed Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Here comes Intel's new CEO: a semiconductor veteran that won the same prestigious award as Jensen Huang and Lisa Su
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 15: Protestors attend the SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike Picket on August 15, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Lila Seeley/Getty Images)
8 months into their strike, videogame voice actors say the industry's latest proposal is 'filled with alarming loopholes that will leave our members vulnerable to AI abuse'