Nearly two years after it first hit shelves, the No Man’s Sky NEXT Update looks set to bring the much-maligned space-sim even closer in line with the lofty expectations many players had of it before launch. True multiplayer support, extensive visual reworks and hundreds of new base parts are just a few of the headline features coming with the update, which lands July 24 2018.

No Man’s Sky NEXT Update Release Date and Time:

The No Man’s Sky NEXT Update will drop at 2PM GMT on July 24 2018, according to the Microsoft Store. That’s 3PM in continental Europe, 9AM Eastern and 6AM Pacific. Although you might have to wait a couple more hours on PS4 – the No Man’s Sky NEXT Update “Event” visible to owners of the game starts at 4PM GMT.

No Man’s Sky NEXT Update Multiplayer:

Hello Games founder Sean Murray took to the PlayStation Blog to outline how the new multiplayer mode works, giving us the following list of features:

Team up with a small group of friends to explore the universe together, or joined with random travelers online

Help friends stay alive, or prey on others to survive

Build shelter or complex colonies together to share with your team

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

A “small group of friends” seems to be you and three other people. You can party up and pool your resources to more quickly create large structures and intricate settlements. While thoughtful quality of life features make it easy to do things like add your own items to a party member’s stash.

No Man’s Sky NEXT Update Additional Patch Notes and Features:

As well as multiplayer, Murray went over a few of the other features expanding the No Man’s Sky experience with the NEXT update:

Extensive Visual Overhaul

Play in third or first person, both on-foot and in ship

Gaze on planetary rings and improved space visuals that make space more beautiful than ever

Explore dramatically improved planetary terrain generation, ground textures, water and clouds that bring the environment to life

Enjoy significantly more detail added to ships, NPCs and buildings

The graphical rework also touches on under-the-hood technical things like shadows and draw-distance to further increase the game’s planet-sized sense of scale. While the new third person perspective will make it easier to keep a handle on your surroundings when you’ve building and adventuring in a group.

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Unlimited Base Building

Build bases anywhere on any planet, with hundreds of new base parts added to the game

Create bigger and better bases than ever before, with dramatically increased base building complexity and size limits

Architect and own multiple bases

Most of the Base Building features look to balance the mechanic for four person play, since the previous base limits would start to feel pretty cramped between four people. One of the heaviest criticisms of No Man’s Sky was the lack of variety in its systems, so hopefully the new base parts can address this as well as giving veteran players something new to try.

Command Freighters

Assemble and upgrade a fleet of frigates and command them from the bridge of your freighter

Send your fleet out to into the universe or deploy them to help you as you explore a specific system

Build a truly custom capital ship with improved freighter base building

Invite your friends aboard and take on challenging multiplayer missions from the Galactic Commission Station on your bridge

Apparently Freighters are much more accessible in the NEXT update so that you have more options for exploring the Galaxy. Your fleet of frigates are little AI companions that help you in your journey. You’re able to send them on different kinds of missions so they can bring back different things.

This is also the week that No Man’s Sky makes its first appearance on Xbox One. It’s available digitally from July 24 , while physical copies will be available in North America on July 24 and July 27 in Europe and the UK. 505 Games will distribute the physical Xbox One version worldwide.

No Man’s Sky NEXT is coming as a free update to PC and PS4 owners on the same day.