List of all updates in chronological order as well as what they added/changed at the bottom.

Here are the statistics: an average of 3.7 updates per year, and keeping at the current average rate, by the 10th anniversary in November 2026 there could be more 7/8 updates to come. February/March and June/July seem to be guaranteed months for big updates for the last 4 years.

I find it hard to believe that after 8 years of regular updating they’d just stop short of a 10th anniversary, so this probability is extremely likely in my opinion. It could also coincide with the release of Light No Fire and a passing of the torch for the team.

Also worth mentioning that there has been 5 planet generation overhauls (in bold) some greater than others, the last one being Origins in 2020. I could see another generation update being planned for v5.0 (later this year?), personally.

09/Aug/2016 Initial Release
26/Nov/2016 Foundation v1.10 (Base Building)

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08/Mar/2017 Pathfinder v1.20 (Vehicles/Exocraft + Permadeath Mode)
11/Aug/2017 Atlas Rises v1.30 (Overhauled storyline + Portals + Procedural Missions + Economies)

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24/Jul/2018 NEXT v1.50 (Multiplayer Mode + Freighters + Graphics Overhaul + Character Creation)
29/Oc/2018 Abyss v1.70 (Oceans Overhaul +Underwater Bases + New Fauna and Flora)
22/Nov/2018 Visions v1.75 (New Biomes + New Creatures + Weather Effects)

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14/Aug/2019 Beyond v2.00 (VR Support + Base Building Overhaul + Discovery page + introduction of Nexus)
28/Nov/2019 Synthesis v2.20 (Upgrade/Salvage Ships + Terrain Manipulation Overhaul)

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18/Feb/2020 Living Ship v2.30 (Living Ships and Questline + Space Encounters)
07/Apr/2020 Exo Mech v2.40 (Minotar Mech)
11/Jun/2020 Crossplay v2.50 (Crossplay Support + XBOX Release + Friends System)
16/Jun/2020 Desolation v2.60 (Desolate Freighters + Freighter Customization)
23/Sep/2020 Origins v3.00 (Universe Overhaul + Sandworms)
10/Nov/2020 Next Generation v3.10 (PS5/XBOX X Support + Save Transfers + 32 Multiplayer Sessions)
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17/Feb/2021 Companions v3.20 (Creature Taming and Breeding)
31/Mar/2021 Expeditions v3.30 (Introduction of Expeditions + Improved UI + Starships Visual Overhaul)
02/Jun/2021 Prisms v3.50 (Graphic Overhaul + Flying Companions)
01/Sep/2021 Frontiers v3.60 (Settlements + Base Building Overhaul)
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16/Feb/2022 Sentinel v3.80 (Sentinel Pillars + Combat Improvements + New Sentinel Presence, Types, And AI)
13/Apr/2022 Outlaws v3.85 (Outlaw Stations and Missions + Solar Ships + Squadrons + Capes)
20/Jul/2022 Endurance v3.94 (Freighter Overhaul + Asteroid Fields Overhaul)
07/Oct/2022 Waypoint v4.00 (Nintendo Switch Release + Custom Game Mode + QoL improvements)
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22/Mar/2023 Fractal v4.10 (PSVR2 Support & VR Overhaul + “Wonders” Section + Utopia Expedition + A Trace Of Metal Questline)
05/Apr/2023 Interceptor v4.20 (Corrupted Planets + Interceptor Ships)
07/Jun/2023 Singularity v4.30 (Singularity Expedition)
24/Aug/2023 Echoes v4.40 (Introduction of the Autophage race and Questline + Pirate Faction)
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14/Feb/2024 Omega v4.50 (Omega Expedition + Starborn Runner + Atlas Helmet/Sceptre)
27/Mar/2024 Orbital v4.60 (Space Stations Overhaul + Ship Customization)

A bit of a vague title, but the truth nonetheless. I got in to No Man’s Sky somewhat late; a couple of expansions dropped, the tide already turned. No Man’s Sky was seen as a decent game, lots was achieved after launch.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun! The first couple of hours were mesmerizing, and I was excited to see what was to come. Fast forward about 50-60 hours, and I was already kind of done with the game. I was earning millions of units with an Activated Indium farm, something that was recommended to me by the many YouTube ‘guide’ videos surrounding this game. I had reloaded a Freighter battle almost 50 times and achieved a Capital S-Class Freighter. I had a massive farm that I used for nanites. I was maxing out my inventory and I finished building somewhat of a base.

Now what? That was the question I had, and it never really went away. Somehow I felt as if I didn’t really ‘complete’ the game, but I also no longer had a goal to work towards. I was earning an absurd amount of units, with nothing to really spend it on. I no longer had any motivation to engage in the vast majority of the systems the game had laid out, because why would I? The rewards gained from exploration were not worth it, I wouldn’t gain anything from it.

I briefly played on both a hardcore and a permadeath save, but after getting the associated achievements, I realized that the changes these game modes provided were not the changes I was looking for. If anything, they seemed detrimental somehow; on top of not having a goal once I set up a few farms somewhere, I now also had to fight a limited inventory system for naught but a level of tedium. If this was No Man’s Sky but difficult, I realized that I did not desire ‘difficulty’ in this game.

I stopped having fun, so I stopped playing.

Then, some time later, I realized that I messed up. I realized that No Man’s Sky, for all of its faults, is not meant to be min/maxed, at least, not for me. I hopped into the game again, determined to go against what I normally do in games like these. This time, I did not rush any sort of farm for mass units and nanites. I did not hop around systems to find the perfect S-Class Freighter. I did not look up any ship catalogues, or teleporter coordinates for valuable exotics or multi-tools. I even started roleplaying my traveler a little bit.

Man, what a world of difference. Suddenly, I find myself having something to work towards constantly. No longer do I skip over 90% of the content in the game because it’s ‘not valuable enough’. I get excited when I find a cool treasure that’s worth a lot of units, or when I find a crashed freighter somewhere. It’s fun to scour planets and systems alike for valuable targets, resources, and settlements.

This might sound totally obvious to a lot of you, but I can’t begin to tell you the epiphany I had when I started playing the game like this. This is what No Man’s Sky is meant to be. It’s not a space economy simulator, it’s a space exploration game. And though that is apparent everywhere in the game, it somehow took me over a year to realize that.

So to all of you who got bored with the game due to a lack of goals, or because making money/nanites etc. is ‘too easy’, try a different approach. Maybe you shouldn’t go for an Activated Indium farm. Maybe it’s best to delete that generous gift from some player in the Anomaly that’s worth millions upon millions. I’ve learned that when I try to game No Man’s Sky, I simply end up gaming myself out of tens, if not hundreds of hours of fun.

See you Space Cowboys…