After what felt like an eternity, No Man’s Sky is finally headed to stores this week, kicking off what will undoubtedly be one of the most exploratory weekends in gaming history. The only question left, for those of us not buying physical copies of No Man’s Sky , is: When can we play the digital version?
If you’re reading this, it’s probably safe to assume you weren’t one of the dozens (maybe hundreds) of people who managed to buy a physical copy of No Man’s Sky over the weekend. Of course, while Sony and Hello Games are still scrambling to take down every No Man’s Sky gameplay video and livestream they can find, consumers around the country are just trying to figure out how much longer they’ll have to wait to join the party. Thankfully, this is one of the rare occasions when those who chose to follow the rules won’t be penalized for it. At least, not in any significant way.
Pre-loading is officially underway on PlayStation 4, meaning anyone who’s purchased No Man’s Sky from the (NA) PlayStation Store can download the game right now. It won’t unlock until 12:01 a.m. EDT. But you can at least be ready to go when the time comes, making No Man’s Sky one of the few games console owners can start playing when stores are just beginning to ring up sales. Many new games don’t unlock on PSN until 3:00 a.m EDT, to accommodate retailers, so this is probably about as quick of a digital release as we could hope for.
No Man’s Sky is in development for PS4 and PC. The game hits PlayStation 4 on Aug. 9 and heads to PC on Aug. 12.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more No Man’s Sky news throughout 2016 and however long Hello Games supports No Man’s Sky after launch.
