Tech

No Man’s Sky’s 17th free content update adds bustling, task-filled settlements

Can you believe it has been five years since the gaming Internet first lost its mind about No Man’s Sky? The ambitious game launched in 2016 with a seemingly infinite galaxy and clearly finite mechanical systems—a beautiful portal to interactive zen, yes, but arguably not what salivating fans had imagined in the hype-filled run-up.

But if you’ve booted the game in the years since, you may have noticed that it is a massively different gaming proposition than its August 2016 incarnation. With free update after free update, the game has grown to something beyond its initial pitches—and today, it grows further still with its… hold on, let me carry the one… seventeenth free content update.

18 quintillion planets, 17 updates

This 17th dump of content, dubbed No Man’s Sky: Frontiers, will arrive on all versions of the game (including VR) shortly after this story goes live. Now, the game’s procedurally generated planets will include a bunch of procedurally generated towns, villages, and settlements. As you take off and land on the game’s estimated 18 quintillion planets, you’ll now find miniature towns dotting their landscapes, each full of townspeople who hail from the game’s various races, milling about a variety of endlessly remixed building types.

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