No Man’s Sky has gone live with their much-anticipated ‘NEXT’ update, which brings true multiplayer to the game. The update has not only added true multiplayer, but it has made a variety of changes and additions that make the game feel like new.

No Man’s Sky is a game primarily known for having a hype train that failed to deliver. However, the NEXT update, which went live yesterday on PC, has greatly revitalized the game and made it feel like new. One of the most obvious changes is the addition of true multiplayer. Players can now customize their character and meet other players in-game. The ability to play with others has been a long-requested feature, and seeing their wish fully realized is making many players happy.

https://twitter.com/BombosMedallion/status/1021876336934248448

There’s plenty more that’s been added, as well. The entire game has received a major graphical overhaul that brings the world of No Man’s Sky to life. Players can now build command freighters, complete with customizable frigates, to engage in multiplayer missions. Crafting has received a rebalancing that simplifies the mechanics, and the inventory system is much easier to manage. The patch notes are a great resource for anyone curious to see just what has changed.

It’s interesting to see how a game that was originally a single-player experience has changed to have multiplayer as a central part of the gameplay experience. It’s also quite an interesting journey for the game itself. It first started out with beautiful trailers and hype that hooked thousands of people. It’s launch was unable to meet the hyped up expectations, but over time it got updates that slowly helped it become closer to the game players saw in the trailers.

The official Galactic Atlas can help players find the most densely populated areas. The more populated areas of the game will host some of the community events, which will start up soon.

UPDATE: Some players have been reporting issues with their save files due to the many changes in the game. Some files force the player to the beginning despite logging their playtime properly, other have issues like this one due to item changes:

My favorite tweets right now are friends excited to come back to No Man's Sky and discovering that they're now trapped on planets that keep murdering them with no escape. If this was an intentional punishment for gamers who gave up on NMS, it would be brilliant. https://t.co/zGXTHsYwUK

— Brock Wilbur (@brockwilbur) July 25, 2018

Hello Games has announced that hotfix patches for the save bugs will arrive on PC soon, but the Xbox One and PS4 patches will take a bit more time.