No Man's Sky 10th Anniversary Rewards and How to Claim Them

No Man’s Sky turned ten years old on August 9, 2026. A decade after one of the roughest launches in modern gaming, Hello Games marked the date with the game’s biggest celebration yet: an open letter from Sean Murray, a tenth anniversary trailer, record community turnout, and the announcement of Cosmos, the anniversary update that lets you fly to a new solar system and land on a star.

Last updated: August 16, 2026 — this page rounds up every No Man’s Sky 10th anniversary reward confirmed or reported so far, how anniversary rewards have worked in previous years, and exactly what you should do to make sure you can claim everything. Some redemption details are still being published alongside the full Cosmos patch notes, and this article is updated as official information lands.

What the 10th Anniversary Included

The celebration combined several strands: the Cosmos update itself, anniversary cosmetics, new music, and a community milestone push that reportedly drove player counts to new records during the anniversary window.

Anniversary Item	Details	Status
Cosmos update	Tenth anniversary update with interstellar flight and star landings	Confirmed
Star landing gear	New heat resistant equipment that lets you land on stars	Confirmed
Anniversary cosmetics	Celebratory cosmetic rewards for players	Reported
Base-building content	New building options as part of the celebration	Reported
“Cosmos Shuffle”	A new anniversary music track	Reported
Community records	Record player engagement reported around the anniversary	Reported
Sean Murray’s letter	Open letter marking ten years and thanking players	Confirmed

The distinction matters. Everything marked Confirmed comes from Hello Games’ own announcement and letter. The cosmetics, building content, and “Cosmos Shuffle” track come from press coverage of the anniversary, and their exact contents are not yet itemized in official patch notes. Treat those as incoming rather than fully detailed.

Sean Murray’s Anniversary Letter

The letter is worth reading in full on the official site, but its headline facts give the anniversary its meaning. Ten years of continuous operation since August 9, 2016. More than forty major updates, all of them free, which took the game from base building and freighters through settlements, mechs, pets, and living ships. Collectively, players have explored less than one percent of the galaxy’s planets, a number Hello Games highlights as the reason the game still has a future. Murray closes with gratitude to the community and a promise of what he calls big things still to come, both for No Man’s Sky and for Hello Games’ next game, Light No Fire.

For reward hunters, the letter carries one practical implication: this is not a wrap-up celebration. Anniversaries that precede a studio’s wind-down do not arrive alongside the most ambitious update in the game’s history. Expect the anniversary rewards to be the start of a new chapter rather than a curtain call.

Anniversary Cosmetics and the Cosmos Shuffle

Cosmetics are the heart of any No Man’s Sky celebration, and the systems that deliver them are long established, which makes preparation straightforward even before every reward is named.

Reward System	How It Works	Cosmos Status
Quicksilver store (Nexus)	Spend Quicksilver earned from Nexus missions on cosmetics	Usual venue for celebratory items; not yet itemized
Nexus daily and weekend missions	Regular Quicksilver income for all players	Live now, good prep
Expedition rewards	Complete timed expeditions for exclusive items	2026 already ran Expeditions 21 and 22
Twitch drops	Link accounts and watch campaigns for ship skins and decor	Has delivered cosmetics in past events; nothing announced yet

Two preparation moves pay off here. First, do not let Quicksilver sit at the cap: daily and weekend Nexus missions are the reliable source, and anniversary cosmetics have historically cost a meaningful amount. Second, if you have never linked your game account to your Twitch account, do it now rather than during an event window, because link issues are the most common reason players miss drops.

The “Cosmos Shuffle” track is the musical souvenir of the anniversary. No Man’s Sky’s soundtrack has been part of its identity since launch, and anniversary coverage indicates the new track arrives with the celebration. How it is obtained, whether it plays automatically, is unlocked as a reward, or is simply part of the update’s ambient score, has not been detailed in official notes yet.

How Anniversaries Were Celebrated Before

Hello Games has settled into a rhythm where the biggest update of each year lands in the summer window around the game’s August anniversary. Looking back at the last few years makes the pattern obvious, and Cosmos is its largest expression yet.

Year	Summer Update	What It Brought
2022	Endurance	Overhauled freighters and capital ship interiors
2023	Echoes	A new robotic race and expanded visuals
2024	Worlds Part I and the Aquarius expedition	Overhauled planets and a fishing-themed expedition

The through-line for players: anniversary-season content is almost always permanent and free, while the rarest items arrive through limited-time expeditions. If Cosmos adds an anniversary expedition or limited-time reward track, the safe assumption based on history is that missed items may return in later re-runs, but waiting a year is a gamble you can avoid by simply playing during the event window.

How to Claim Your 10th Anniversary Rewards

Based on what is confirmed today, here is the checklist. Steps marked pending depend on details Hello Games has not yet published.

1. Log in during the anniversary window and download the Cosmos update when it arrives.
2. Visit the Space Anomaly and check the Quicksilver store for new celebratory cosmetics.
3. Complete Nexus daily and weekend missions before the event to build a Quicksilver buffer.
4. Check the expedition menu in game for any anniversary expedition or reward track.
5. Link your Twitch account in advance in case a drops campaign accompanies the celebration.
6. Watch the official news page and release log for the full reward list as patch notes roll out.

If you are returning after a long break, all of this works on your existing save. Nothing about the anniversary requires starting over.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the 10th anniversary rewards free?

Almost certainly. Every major update in ten years has been free, and anniversary celebration items have historically been delivered through gameplay: Quicksilver cosmetics, expedition rewards, and drops. No paid anniversary bundle has been announced.

How long will anniversary rewards be available?

Permanent additions such as music and update content stay forever. Timed elements, such as any anniversary expedition or drops campaign, run for a limited window that Hello Games has not yet published. Play during the event window if you want to be safe.

Do I need the Cosmos update to get the anniversary rewards?

The anniversary celebration and the Cosmos update are one event, so the answer is effectively yes. The update is free and applies to your existing save on every platform the game currently runs on.

Was there a 10th anniversary expedition?

Nothing announced so far confirms one. 2026 has already run Expedition 21, Remnant, in the spring and Expedition 22 alongside The Swarm in May, and another expedition timed to Cosmos would be consistent with the studio’s habits, but treat that as expectation rather than fact until it appears on the official news page.

What was in Sean Murray’s letter?

An open thank-you to players marking ten years since launch, a recap of more than forty free major updates, the note that less than one percent of the galaxy’s planets have been explored, and a forward look at more to come for No Man’s Sky alongside Hello Games’ next game, Light No Fire.