No Man’s Sky hasn’t changed much since November’s Foundation Update, but recent analysis of the game’s Steam database listing suggests Hello Games is hard at work making adjustments to the PC build. Is the next expansion almost here?
Given the recent circumstances and habits of the studio, the game’s devotees certainly hope so. After all, this is one of several internal builds that have been updated since November. We even covered one that seemed to imply the possibility of official mod support. A similar amount of revisions were made right before Foundation went live, so players are getting antsy.
Another source of release date speculation comes from the fact that the game’s lead programmer, Sean Murray, will be giving a panel at the 2017 Game Developer’s Conference in March. The lecture, titled Building Worlds Using Maths, takes place on March 3 and is described as a deep dive into the algorithm that generates No Man’s Sky’s 18 quintillion planets. Logic dictates that Hello might want a new version of the game to show off during that presentation.
That being said, given the history of this game and the nature of GDC, we’d urge fans to manage their expectations. Because Murray is speaking at a closed, industry-specific gathering, there’s no guarantee that anything will be offered to the public. GDC panels often focus on unfinished code, so, while the update may be tied to the talk, it may not be a reflection of what players get.
Despite being quiet for about three months, leaks have told us that Hello Games definitely has plans to iterate further on No Man’s Sky. Datamines revealed buggies and other vehicles that weren’t part of the patch.
Murray’s GDC discussion will be the first time the Hello Games founder has spoken in public since the rocky release of No Man’s Sky. We expect that a presentation amongst his peers won’t be marred by the vitriol that transpired this past summer.
No Man’s Sky is available now on PS4 and PC.
Do you think this internal PC update relates to No Man’s Sky’s next big patch? Will it release sometime soon? Tell us in the comments section!
