Multiplayer (2024)

The subject of this article is from the Synthesis update. The information from this article is up-to-date as of 18 February, 2020.

The subject of this article is from the Synthesis update.
The information from this article is is up-to-date as of 18 February, 2020.

Multiplayer allows multiple players to play No Man's Sky together.

Summary[ | ]

Multiplayer is a feature of No Man's Sky that saw a more traditional implementation with the NEXT release and was further expanded upon in the Beyond update.

The game can currently be played by multiple people together online in parties of 2 to 4 players. Up to 32 players on PC or 16 on console can be in the same instance of a star system. (Only PC able to host lobbies of 32, consoles running NextGen can host lobbies of 16.) When encountering other players on console you can only use VOIP (Voice over IP) and emotes to communicate, while on PC you may also use text chat to communicate with each other. You will also be able to see each other's character model, multi-tool(s), starship(s) and base(s).

While No Man's Sky was not a traditional multiplayer game at the beginning, the feature was gradually elaborated upon through various releases. There is however, still no split screen co-operative or local multiplayer mode. You can only play multiplayer over the internet.

Joint Exploration (Atlas Rises)[ | ]

• Visualised by floating orbs (called Glitches), up to 16 players could see and communicate with one another, and explore the universe together.
• While interaction was very limited, VOIP (Voice over IP) allowed proximity based voice chat with other nearby explorers.
• Use portals to quickly travel to more populated planets, or to meet up with friends.
• The orbs could be seen across the different game modes.

Interactions[ | ]

• Two players can create a Monument by choosing to interact with each other. After a monument is created, it is impossible to create another in the same planet.

Discoveries[ | ]

• Systems, Planets, Moons, Flora, and Fauna can all be named and seen by other players.

Base Sharing[ | ]

• Player bases can be found on planets, uploaded and downloaded on the Steam version only. On PS4, players are only able to find player bases.
• Creative mode allows you to visit downloaded player bases at any time from the main menu.

Race Tracks[ | ]

Once a base is built, an exocraft racetrack can be created on the home planet's surface. You may then race on your own circuit to create a best time for other players to compete against.

Messages[ | ]

A Communications Station can be used to leave a short message for other players.

Hints and Speculation[ | ]

In the Atlas Rises update, multiple new lore interactions were added to hint at upcoming multiplayer features:

• Text from the final Traveller interaction:

"Hm. It's really you, isn't it? I had to see it for myself. The dawn of the Travellers. The last days of the universe. But don't give up hope. It's said that one of us visited you in your darkest hour and showed you a vision of a future you believed to be impossible.So, here I am..."

I see a vision of myself, older, undaunted, travelling beneath the star of an alien world. But I am not alone. There are other Travellers with me. More than just apparitions, more than just visitors. One day we will travel together, side by side. There will be no sky we cannot claim, no challenge which we cannot overcome. Our universe awaits.

• From the final Rogue Data log:

The walls between worlds fall, each simulation collapsing into the other. (...) The Travellers are no longer separated, no longer kept apart. They stand side by side at the end of days, traversing the remnants of creation, laughing, dying.

• From the fiftieth Boundary Failure log:

The walls of the multiverse collapse, and the Traveller can see Traveller, friend can see foe.

Miscellaneous[ | ]

• Before the game was released, it was heavily implied that the game was going to involve seeing and minor interaction with other players.^[1] In 2018, prior to the NEXT update, Sean Murray explained in an interview why multiplayer wasn't a feature in the game at launch: "In play-testing, [multiplayer] was of almost no value to the player - it was just a cool thing, a cool moment that some people would have, and we talked about it with the press that there's this cool thing that would maybe make a story sometime. But it's a big complicated thing for that payoff. We were fighting for it until pretty much the final hours of the game." According to him, if multiplayer had been added at launch, it would have be similar to Atlas Rises' joint exploration feature.^[2]

Release history[ | ]

• Pathfinder - players can share created bases, racetracks, and leave messages for other players on planet surfaces and in bases.
• Atlas Rises update added a feature called Joint Exploration which allows the ability to see other players visualized as strange floating orbs. As well as meta element, it is possible to rename, and share creatures, planets, moons, and star systems. Other players will be able to see that you have discovered and named that creature if they come across it in their journey.
• NEXT - added multi-player for squads of four players, including conversation via headset or by in-game chat. Options include co-op base building, Galactic Commission Station missions, group mechanics for exploration, and sharing of resources.
• Beyond - added the ability to see each other's character model instead of only a floating orb

Gallery[ | ]