No Man's Sky teases new expansion, Frontiers, in 5-year anniversary video

How time flies! It's hard to believe it's been half a decade since No Man's Sky launched, but Hello Games released its space exploration sandbox on August 9, 2016. 

That's five years ago to the day, and to celebrate the milestone Hello Games has released an anniversary video you can watch above.

Those five years have been eventful. They began with the rocky No Man's Sky launch which included some major performance issues on PC and missing multiplayer features, plus a general feeling that the game didn't live up to the pre-release hype—which would have been impossible, since that hype was astronomical.

But Hello Games didn't sit idle. The small studio has added a startling amount of new features since the game's original launch. The anniversary video takes us through the evolution of No Man's Sky at a breakneck pace—the addition of base-building, ground vehicles, an expanded story, the long-awaited multiplayer features, VR compatibility, living ships, mechs, rideable creatures, a player hub, expeditions, plus improved visuals and procedural generation. No Man's Sky really has come a long way.

And despite all that's been added over the past five years, Hello Games isn't done yet. The video ends with a tease of what's to come: Yet another free update for No Man's Sky called Frontiers is on the way.

And... that's about all we know about it at the moment, just the name. The logo is revealed in Alien opening credits fashion, with the letters slowly appearing on screen as ominous music plays, but I don't know if that's a hint that the expansion will be alien-related or if it's just a bit of sci-fi flair. According to Hello Games, we'll learn more about Frontiers soon.

Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.

Read more
A gas giant planet in No Man's Sky
No Man's Sky is getting 'trillions of new planets,' some with oceans 'several kilometers deep,' plus explorable 'end-game' gas giants
Best space games on PC
EVE lays out a busy 2025 focusing on player customization and fan-favorite events
A citizen of a city
A lot is going on for Cities: Skylines' 10th anniversary—from freebies to new creator packs—but there's still a big ol' elephant in the room
Besiege's altered final level on Tolbrynd Island
Besiege celebrates a decade of building deadly contraptions with a reworked sandbox mode, adjusted level designs and slow-motion explosions
Spaceships flying through a planet's atmosphere in Star Citizen.
Chris Roberts sallies forth to declare 'we are closer than ever to realizing a dream many have said is impossible' with Star Citizen, but I'm sure I've heard this record before
A spacecraft flying near the sun in Elite: Dangerous
Elite Dangerous just implemented an entire system colonisation mechanic, in case you really want to get off this planet
Latest in Action
assassin's creed shadows protector's armor
Assassin's Creed Shadows hits 2 million players, putting it on track to be the series' most successful game yet
Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer still - woman in the front seat of a car, looking out the back window while holding a wad of cash
The specter of a GTA 6 delay haunts the games industry: 'Some companies are going to tank' if they guess wrong, says analyst
Western outlaws with masks and guns
'Players don't explore': former Grand Theft Auto 6 and Red Dead Online designer lays out the perils of 'open world fatigue'
Monster Hunter Wilds palico
Monster Hunter Wilds' first free update will feature 'a whole host of new additions' and a majestic water wyvern for players to blow sky high
Ichiban Kasuga goes divekicking in the Dave The Diver crossover DLC
Ichiban Kasuga makes like a dragonfish and joins Dave the Diver’s latest DLC on April 10th for some fisticuffs and a few rounds of karaoke
Assassin's Creed Shadows Tea Ceremony answers - Naoe about to sip tea from a bowl.
All Assassin's Creed Shadows Tea Ceremony answers
Latest in News
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 22: A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on August 22, 2024.
'Google must divest the Chrome browser:' DOJ renews call for Google to sell Chrome, and Android could be next
Victory screen of Big Rigs showing infamous "You're Winner" message under a three-handle gold trophy
One of the worst games ever made is coming to Steam, but we won't know how cruel this joke is until we see the price tag
Sci-fi character from Dune
Dune: Awakening promises us a breath of fresh air, skipping early access for a full launch with no monthly subscription in May
Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach concept art
'The dream of the tech industry is to sell off your company at an overinflated price and retire,' says actor behind Baldur's Gate 3's Karlach, 'And I feel that's being done with game studios right now'
assassin's creed shadows protector's armor
Assassin's Creed Shadows hits 2 million players, putting it on track to be the series' most successful game yet
Minthara BG3 looking upset
Another round of Baldur's Gate 3 unearthing reveals Minthara can end up living in a sewer, an unused beach ending, and more