No Man's Sky New Update 2026: Every Update This Year Explained

2026 is the busiest year No Man’s Sky has had in a long time, and it ends, so far, with the biggest update in the game’s history. Every new No Man’s Sky update in 2026 has built toward the same moment: the game’s tenth anniversary on August 9, 2026, and the Cosmos update that Hello Games announced to celebrate it.

Last updated: August 16, 2026 — this guide is the hub for the whole year. You will find every 2026 update listed with its version and release window, what each one actually added, why it matters for your save, and what is still coming. The complete Cosmos patch notes are rolling out as of this writing, so the August section is updated as official details appear.

Every No Man’s Sky Update in 2026 at a Glance

Month	Update	Version	Focus
February	Remnant	6.22	Expedition 21, desert salvage, Colossus upgrades
May	The Swarm	Not itemized here	Space combat against swarm enemies, Expedition 22
June	Companion battling	6.36	Creature versus creature battles, followed by fixes
June 22	Follow-up patch	6.45.1	Stability and bug fixes
August	Cosmos	TBA	10th anniversary: interstellar flight, star landings

If you are short on time, the one-line summary: space combat returned in May, creatures learned to fight in June, and August rewrites how you travel the galaxy. Every update is free and applies to existing saves.

Remnant and Expedition 21 (February)

The year opened with the Remnant update, version 6.22, paired with Expedition 21, which ran from February 11 to March 13, 2026. The expedition sent travelers to strip dangerous industrial remnants from desert worlds, and community speedrunners worked out routes that cleared it in well under a day of playtime. The lasting value for most players was the Colossus progression: expedition completion fed directly into unlocking upgrades for the heavy exocraft from the Remnant update.

If you missed Expedition 21, its exclusive rewards are gone for now, though No Man’s Sky has historically re-run older expeditions, so a return in a future cycle is plausible but not promised. The Remnant update’s permanent additions, including its Colossus-related content, remain available to everyone.

The Swarm and Expedition 22 (May)

May’s Swarm update was the one space combat fans had been waiting for. It pitched players into sustained fleet-scale battles against coordinated swarm enemies, reworked parts of the space combat feel, and shipped alongside Expedition 22, whose rewards included Direwasp-themed items according to published patch note coverage.

Reactions in the community were split in an instructive way: the battles themselves were widely praised as the best large-scale space combat the game has delivered, while the expedition structure around them drew more mixed opinions. For guide purposes, the takeaway is simple. If you let your ship loadout stagnate, The Swarm is the reason to fix it: upgraded weapons, shields, and a freighter you can summon into a fight now pay off in regular gameplay, not just set-piece moments.

Pet Companion Battling and Patches 6.36 to 6.45.1 (June)

June brought the update nobody predicted: creature companion battling, in the vein of classic monster-collecting games. Your tamed companions can now square off against other creatures, and Hello Games’ own news page described it as the game’s take on that style of battling. Patch 6.36 arrived with the feature, delivering fixes for it, and the line continued through patch 6.45.1 on June 22 with further stability and bug-fix work.

For your save, the practical advice is to keep a few well-bred companions around rather than releasing everything you hatch. Companion traits and stats feed the battling system, so a stable you built casually before June is worth re-evaluating. Between this and The Swarm, the first half of 2026 quietly turned No Man’s Sky into a much more combat-capable game, on the ground and in space.

Cosmos: The Tenth Anniversary Update (August)

Cosmos is the headline of the year and the tenth anniversary centerpiece. Confirmed so far, from Hello Games’ own announcement: you can fly straight to a different solar system rather than traveling only by conventional warp, and you can land on a star, protected by new heat resistant gear. Reported alongside the announcement: anniversary cosmetic rewards, new base-building content, and a new music track, “Cosmos Shuffle.”

The anniversary announcement arrived with an open letter from Sean Murray recapping ten years and more than forty major free updates, noting that players have explored less than one percent of the galaxy’s planets. Full itemized Cosmos patch notes are still being published as of August 16, 2026, so exact stats, acquisition methods, and fix lists belong to the dedicated patch notes page rather than this overview.

Preparation advice has not changed in ten years of No Man’s Sky updates, which is why it works: bank nanites, units, and Quicksilver, keep exosuit slots free, make sure your hazard protection and heat modules are up to standard, and log in on day one if you want limited-time anniversary rewards.

Which 2026 Update Should You Play First?

Coming back after a break? Use this table to pick your re-entry point.

If You Want	Start With	First Move
The new frontier	Cosmos, August	Prep currencies and heat gear, then attempt a star landing
Space combat	The Swarm, May	Upgrade ship weapons and shields, bring your freighter
Creature collecting	Companion battling, June	Rearrange your stable and enter a few battles
Heavy vehicles	Remnant, February	Grind Colossus upgrades from the permanent pool
Everything	Any order	All updates stack on one save, nothing is missable except old expedition exclusives

What Comes After Cosmos

Two things are on the record. First, Sean Murray’s anniversary letter promises more to come for No Man’s Sky itself, and the game’s cadence of roughly one major update every few months gives a fair expectation of further content before the year ends, though nothing specific has been announced. Second, Hello Games continues to develop Light No Fire, its next game, which is the studio’s focus beyond No Man’s Sky and is expected after 2026.

Ten years in, the honest read is that No Man’s Sky has never had a year this ambitious, and Cosmos is explicitly framed as the start of a new era rather than a conclusion. Bookmark the official release log, keep your save warm, and check back here: this page is updated as each new 2026 update is announced.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the newest No Man’s Sky update in 2026?

Cosmos, the tenth anniversary update announced in August 2026. It adds direct interstellar flight and the ability to land on stars using new heat resistant gear. The last fully shipped patch before it was 6.45.1 on June 22, 2026.

Are all the 2026 updates free?

Yes. Every update in 2026, like every major update in the game’s ten-year history, is free and applies to your existing save on every platform that runs the game.

What was the Remnant update in No Man’s Sky?

The February 2026 update, version 6.22, paired with Expedition 21 from February 11 to March 13. It centered on stripping industrial remnants from desert worlds and unlocking Colossus exocraft upgrades, some of which were tied to the expedition.

Do I need to have played the earlier 2026 updates to enjoy Cosmos?

No. Each update stands on its own and they all stack on one save. That said, The Swarm’s ship upgrades and June’s companion battling both add tools you will enjoy having when you head for the stars.

Will there be more No Man’s Sky updates after Cosmos?

On the record, yes in spirit: the anniversary letter points to more ahead for No Man’s Sky while Hello Games also develops Light No Fire. Nothing specific beyond Cosmos has been announced as of August 16, 2026.