10 Years Later, No Man’s Sky Officially Unveils A Brand-New Era

2 hours ago 10

No Man's Sky Swarms update screen of clouds and aliens

Published Aug 11, 2026, 8:54 AM EDT

Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond.

No Man's Sky as we know it today is virtually unrecognizable compared to what it was at launch 10 years ago, a fact that the game's developer Sean Murray pointed out in a new update celebrating the game's decade-long run. First releasing on August 9, 2016, to middling reviews, No Man's Sky has become a must-play open-world sci-fi experience that not only lives up to its original promises, but far surpasses any expectations fans had for the game when it first launched.

To mark their 10-year run, Hello Games and Sean Murray specifically recently released an official announcement as a thank-you to fans, but also to give us a bit of a teaser at what's in store for No Man's Sky's future. While there have been countless updates and free content releases over the years, No Man's Sky is far from finished, and Hello Games looks poised to usher in a brand-new era for the game in the coming months (via NMS).

A player character swimming through the ocean, right next to a squidlike creature in the No Man's Sky Worlds Part 2 update.

As part of his heartfelt letter thanking fans for 10 years of sticking with No Man's Sky and seeing it evolve into what it is today, Murray mentions "our upcoming update titled COSMOS," noting that more information is soon to follow. The Cosmos update is likely a major free content update, akin to the recent Swarm, Remnant, Traveler, or Voyagers updates, though there are no specific details available at the moment aside from that there are "big things" in store.

Anyone who has played No Man's Sky lately knows that Hello Games knows how to deliver when it comes to free updates, so there's no question this is likely to be a massive reveal when we do get more information in the weeks ahead. Murray is likely to tease the big reveal with his notorious emoji campaigns on social media, specifically via his X account where he posts teasers, screenshots, and cryptic messages ahead of any major new update.

In terms of Hello Games' next project, Light No Fire, we did get a very small teaser regarding the project, though it's nothing to get too excited about. Essentially, Murray confirmed they are forging ahead with development, saying, "In the background we are busy cooking on our next game Light No Fire."

Light No Fire is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated upcoming open-world games, promising a No Man’s Sky-esque experience condensed onto a single planet and set within an expansive fantasy world. Details are infamously hard to come by, which is likely because Hello Games learned their lesson with the launch of No Man's Sky and doesn't want to overpromise before they're ready to deliver something substantive.

That said, the future is bright for both No Man's Sky and Light No Fire, and it's amazing to see how far Hello Games have come in the 10 years since their first major release. No Man's Sky is currently available on all major platforms, including PlayStation 4 & 5, XBOX One, XBOX Series X/S, Nintendo Switch & Switch 2, Windows PC, Mac, Steam Deck, PSVR, PSVR2, and PC VR, and is well worth checking out if you haven't yet.