No Man's Sky News

Gaming's legendary comeback is now free until Monday: No Man's Sky's next big update lets you join its Omega community expedition without spending a cent

No Man's Sky nearly burned up on its atmospheric entry back in 2016—it promised the universe, and only delivered a sort-of-okay space game. PC Gamer gave it a middling 64 at launch in our No Man's Sky review, with Christopher Livingston remarking: "I’ve touched an infinite universe and walked away with some nice vacation photos."..
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No Man's Sky Omega update takes aim at new and lapsed players with free weekend and pirate dreadnought

Hello Games describe No Man's Sky's latest Omega update as being geared towards newcomers and "lapsed players looking for a way back in". Hey, they're talking about me! I haven't played the wide-eyed space game since before the pandemic, partly because I only own the PS4 version and now that I'm RPS news editor, I'm not allowed to touch consoles any more. Seriously, they burn my skin on contact. Anyway, let's have a gander at the trailer.

Introducing..the OMEGA update!

Hello!

Last year was a busy one for the small team at Hello Games, with lots of No Man’s Sky updates and the announce of Light No Fire.

We have big plans for 2024, and we’re starting the year off with a very different kind of update. We’re calling it OMEGA, and for the first time No Man’s Sky will be available to play for free! Full patch notes here.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Expeditions in No Man’s Sky have become one of the most popular ways to play the game. They bring all players together to the same planet for an interstellar, shared experience. This weekend (Thursday 15th to Monday 19th February) we are allowing everyone, whether you own the game or not, to join the Omega Expedition.

This represents a moment for new players to try No Man’s Sky, and existing players to welcome them into the community. There are no microtransactions, no free to play mechanics, just a huge universe to explore for free with your friends.

The Omega update also brings a complete overhaul of expeditions, new on-planet missions, a new pirate dreadnought to own, and much more.

Until now expeditions have been their own game mode, but we wanted to fully integrate them into our main game. Now, our new expedition system allows travellers to join expeditions with bespoke provisions, bring along their favourite starships or custom multi-tools and return to their main save with loot and exciting rewards.

We have revisited the “Atlas Path”, allowing players to commune with the Atlas and honour it with a new Atlas staff, jetpack and helmet.

On planets we have introduced a huge array of procedurally generated quests. Talking to alien lifeforms results in quests specific to an alien lifeforms locale, climate and personality.

For the first time, take on the universe with a fleet of frigates led by a Dreadnought capital ship. If players can defeat pirate freighters in combat, travellers can board the Dreadnought to demand control.

At the core of this update is the Omega Expedition, which has been built from the ground up as a perfect introduction for new players, but with some of the best rewards in any expedition to date, including a gorgeous new starship to explore the universe with.

In the almost eight years since launch, through over 25 free updates, the No Man’s Sky universe has become at times overwhelming in breadth and depth. Through a series of quick missions and milestones, the OMEGA expeditions will guide you through the fundamentals of base-building, trading, space combat, lore and much, much more. Any progress you make will be retained in case you choose to purchase the game and continue your journey.

The Omega Expedition runs for 4 weeks from Thursday 15th February and is free to play for the first weekend until Monday 19th February. Full patch notes here.

Whether you’ve been on the journey with us for a while, or you're a lapsed player looking for a way back in, or a newcomer who’s always wanted to take a peek at what No Man’s Sky has to offer, everyone is welcome and there’s never been a better time to join in.

Our journey continues.

Sean

No Man's Sky's latest update will let anyone try it for free, but not for long

Another day, another No Man's Sky update, with this particular one, Omega, allowing for anybody to try it out, completely free of charge.

Every time I see that No Man's Sky has a new update, I look at the date and think "wow, still going after X many years, huh" (it's been almost eight years, as of right now). Another one has dropped today, Omega (or update No Man's Sky update 4.5), and those of you who have been thinking about trying it out for a while are in for some good news: from today, February 15, 6pm GMT/ 1pm EST, until Monday February 19, you'll be able to try out the entire Omega expedition completely for free, even if you don't own the game. The official page for the update has all the relevant links you might need to download the free trial, but it's also worth noting the game is actually half-off on Steam right now.

Of course, there's the question of what's new in the update too. As mentioned, there's the new Omega expedition, which Hello Games explains that "all participating Travellers begin a journey together on the beautiful planet Nafut Gamma, and plot a course through the galaxy. Explore, build, fight, and more through a diverse set of milestones, and unpick the threads of a mystery involving the past, the present, and what could be…"

No Man's Sky Omega is here, and for the first time ever you'll be able to jump into the new expedition whether or not you own the game. To celebrate the launch of the new No Man's Sky update today, developer Hello Games, currently also at work on its upcoming game Light No Fire, announces that No Man's Sky and its Omega expansion will be available to play as a free PC game through this whole weekend, so don't miss out on your chance to find out just how far the space exploration sandbox game has come.

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