No Man’s Sky Offers Free Switch 2 Edition Upgrade With Added Features

Summary

A Nintendo Switch 2 version of No Man’s Sky will be available as a free upgrade for existing players at launch.
The new Beacon update has overhauled the game’s settlement mechanics and introduced some helpful new features.
Players enjoying No Man’s Sky on the Nintendo Switch 2 will be able to take advantage of the game’s cross-play and cross-save features on day one.

Hello Games has confirmed the details behind the enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 edition of No Man’s Sky, which will come as a free upgrade to existing players on the day of the console’s launch. The Switch 2’s increased horsepower will allow the game to render a considerably larger amount the game’s procedurally generated universe when compared to the Nintendo Switch, allowing for more graphical quality and higher frame rates in No Man’s Sky.

No Man’s Sky has taken yet another big step forward this week with the launch of its new Beacon update, which significantly overhauls the game’s settlement mechanics and introduces a few welcome quality-of-life features. Players can now own up to four settlements across No Man’s Sky‘s boundless universe, including new settlements populated by the Autophage race. Settlement Overseers now have even further control over their settlement colonies, from the music that plays in the tavern to the resources and components that can be mass-manufactured in settlement factories. A surprising but pretty significant new option introduced with the Beacon update allows players to completely disable their Exosuit’s AI voice if preferred, or change it to a new male voice.

No Man’s Sky: Why You Should Start Over in 2025

No Man’s Sky has been around for nearly a decade, and both newcomers and longtime players would benefit from jumping in this year.

The free Beacon update is another big step forward for No Man’s Sky, which has dropped mere months after the game’s previous content update, Relics. Leaving the community little time to catch its breath, Hello Games added to the update’s release with the announcement of an enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 version of No Man’s Sky, set to launch alongside the console itself on June 5th. Players who already own No Man’s Sky on their Nintendo Switch devices will be able to upgrade to the Nintendo Switch 2 edition at no additional cost, and will be able to enjoy the game’s multiplayer functionality for the first time on the Nintendo platform.

No Man’s Sky’s Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Will Feature Multiplayer and Cross-Save Functionality From Day One

On top of that, players enjoying No Man’s Sky on the Nintendo Switch 2 will be able to take advantage of the game’s cross-play and cross-save features from day one, allowing them to seamlessly jump into their saved games from other platforms. According to No Man’s Sky developer Sean Murray, the Nintendo Switch 2 edition of the game was 12 months in the making, with the team receiving development kits last year.

Hello Games previously impressed handheld enthusiasts with the Nintendo Switch edition of No Man’s Sky when it launched back in 2022, although the version was missing certain features such as settlements and multiplayer functionality. No Man’s Sky has come an extremely long way since then, both in terms of content additions and improvements on the technical side, and fans are hopeful that the game’s Switch 2 edition will provide an even more solid experience on par with that offered by other platforms.