Last evening Hello Games teased a “small announcement,” and this morning they more than delivered, revealing No Man’s Sky: Beyond, the game’s latest major update. Hello Games had originally planned to release a series of smaller updates throughout 2019, but have instead decided to combine them all into one big update for maximum impact. You can check out a brief teaser trailer, below.

　　Much about No Man’s Sky: Beyond remains mysterious, but Hello Games founder Sean Murray has revealed the game is getting a “radical new social and multiplayer experience” called No Man’s Sky Online. Here’s how Murray describes No Man’s Sky Online…

　　“The first component of Beyond we are announcing today is No Man’s Sky Online. No Man’s Sky Online includes a radical new social and multiplayer experience which empowers players everywhere in the universe to meet and play together. Whilst this brings people together like never before, and has many recognizable online elements, we don’t consider No Man’s Sky to be an MMO – it won’t require a subscription, won’t contain microtransactions, and will be free for all existing players.

　　These changes are an answer to how we have seen people playing since the release of NEXT, and is something we’ve dreamed of for a long time. We will talk more about each component when we know we can be precise, and look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks.”

　　Sounds like No Man’s Sky will finally be getting the full-fledged multiplayer experience people dreamed about when the game was first announced. Oh, and kudos to Hello Games for not using this update to try to extract more money from their customers. A lot of other companies would not have the same restraint.

　　No Man’s Sky: Beyond launches sometime this summer. What do you think? Are you excited to journey into the Beyond?