No Man's Sky: Beyond gets August release date

Published , by Brittany Vincent

Hello Games' latest phase of its intergalactic adventure No Man's Sky is coming this month, and it's finally been dated for release.

No Man's Sky: Beyond is touching down this month and will include a wide variety of new components, including No Man's Sky Online, which is bringing a major revamp to the game's current multiplayer mode in place.

“It includes a radical new social and multiplayer experience which empowers players everywhere in the universe to meet and play together,” said Hello Games' managing director Sean Murray to Polygon. “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 micro-transactions, and will be free for all existing players.”

Previously, No Man's Sky had received the massive Next update, which offered a new set of options to play with friends as well as a heaping helping of new content for players to dig into. It was well-received by fans who felt a bit burned by the game's original release, which featured potentially frustrating grinding mechanics, worlds that felt too similar to each other, and an overall lack of the brilliance the developers touted when it was first announced.

Blake Morse had a chance to check out No Man's Sky: Beyond during a hands-on session. Here's what he thought:

"The real star of the demo, for me at least, was taking a spin in No Man’s Sky: Beyond’s vehicles. Driving and flying are very intuitive in-game. To enter a vehicle you just teleport up to it, lift the hatch with an upswing gesture, and you’re suddenly behind the wheel. Steering an ATV involved manning a two-handed wheel with a few buttons on it, while the spaceship involved a joystick and throttle setup. While I didn’t get to spend that much time exploring the land I really enjoyed piloting both. The ATV reminded me of riding dune buggies in the Nevada desert and flying into space and traversing the cosmos is just flat-out breathtaking in VR"

You can check it out for yourself when it debuts on August 14 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.