Hello Games has unleashed its latest free update for No Man’s Sky, and it might be the most ambitious community event the nearly decade-old space exploration game has ever attempted. Titled The Swarm, the update introduces a colossal new enemy known as the Hive of Glass — a gigantic, eye-like entity that has broken through from the game’s mysterious World of Glass and now looms ominously above planets, threatening the very fabric of the procedurally generated universe.
The Hive of Glass is no passive presence. According to Rock Paper Shotgun, the entity deploys armies of drone ships to defend itself and can charge up a devastating laser capable of obliterating entire freighter fleets — and possibly even space stations. Players are being called upon to mount a coordinated war effort against this existential threat, with battles taking place primarily in the vastness of space in engagements involving hundreds of ships at once.
Before joining the fight, players must first complete a personality test that sorts them into one of three factions, a mechanic that Eurogamer likened to the team-sorting Splatfests from Nintendo’s Splatoon series. From there, each faction must cooperate, strategize, and compete to contribute the most to the galactic defense. Player progress is tracked publicly through both the Space Anomaly hub and the Galactic Atlas, and the faction that proves most effective will earn a permanent memorial within the game — a compelling incentive for competitive-minded explorers.
The fight against the Hive extends beyond orbital dogfights. Down on planetary surfaces, players can salvage and research the wreckage of crashed drones while fending off smaller roaming swarms. These investigations hold the key to uncovering the Hive’s origins and vulnerabilities, and Hello Games founder Sean Murray has encouraged players to share discoveries with one another as part of a collective effort to unravel the mystery behind the invasion.
The update’s emphasis on large-scale, community-driven warfare has drawn comparisons to the galactic conflict structure of Helldivers 2, though No Man’s Sky distinguishes itself with its focus on spaceship combat rather than ground-based shooting. The Swarm arrives as a new Expedition and follows April’s Xeno Arena update, which added creature-battling mechanics reminiscent of Pokémon. Together, the updates signal that Hello Games continues to find inventive new directions for the title as it approaches its tenth anniversary in August.
The Swarm update is available now across all platforms at no additional cost, continuing Hello Games’ long-running tradition of delivering substantial free content updates. Whether players prefer dogfighting among the stars or piecing together lore on alien worlds, the latest chapter in No Man’s Sky’s ever-expanding story offers something for everyone willing to answer the call to arms.