Hello Games has been working on something big for its next update to sci-fi universe No Man’s Sky. Previously announcing that the title would be coming to Xbox Game Pass, the studio has now confirmed that the Windows 10 version of the videogame will also be Game Pass compatible. What has this to do with virtual reality (VR)? Well, Hello Games want’s to create one big universal family, so it’ll be rolling out cross-platform multiplayer.
That right, from tomorrow no matter which platform you’re playing No Man’s Sky on, you’ll be able to meet up with mates. Using a PlayStation VR and your friend has an Oculus Rift, that shouldn’t be an issue.
“We are excited to be able to announce that, starting tomorrow, PlayStation 4 players, Xbox One players and PC players will all be able to explore, journey, survive, build, and trade together. Excitingly, No Man’s Sky is joining what is at the moment a fairly small group of games which support cross-platform multiplayer,” says a Hello Games blog post.
The studio notes some of the key features when it comes to the cross-platform multiplayer and the friend’s system:
- Replaced the entire network backend, so that players can now make multiplayer connections across all platforms.
- Ambient multiplayer on the Space Anomaly, in space, or on planets, can now match you with players from any platform.
- When face-to-face with another player, a quick interaction has been added to smoothly create a new group or invite new players to your existing group.
- No Man’s Sky Friends can also be added at any time by means of a unique code.
Alongside all of that here are the VR specific improvements and bug fixes arriving in the update:
- Upgraded the OpenVR implementation to 1.10.30.
- Cockpit exit handles can now be grabbed both ways up.
- Added an option to show the player’s body when playing in VR.
- Camera height now reflects the height of your character in VR.
- Improved the accuracy of hand tracking in VR.
While No Man’s Sky has been available since 2016 it wasn’t until last summer that Hello Games released No Man’s Sky: Beyond, adding VR support in the process.
This new update arrives tomorrow, Thursday 11th June. For further No Man’s Sky announcements, keep reading VRFocus.