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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The “next update” in this headline refers to No Man’s Sky: Worlds Part I, Hello Games’ 2024 update 5.0—not an update announced for 2026. Its planet-focused changes made worlds more visually varied through redesigned clouds, water, and surfaces, alongside changes to terrain generation and rendering. Those changes make planets feel more convincing; they do not amount to a simulation of real planetary physics.
What Worlds Part I changed
Hello Games presented Worlds Part I as a major update to water and clouds, planetary diversity, and gameplay. The official Worlds Part I update page describes changes to cloud detail, planetary surfaces, and the way weather and cloud cover vary across worlds. The result is a stronger sense that planets have distinct environments, rather than a claim that every world was rebuilt in the same way.
Clouds and weather
The update added more detailed volumetric clouds, including wispy cirrus and darker, rain-laden nimbus forms. Cloud coverage can vary from planet to planet and change over time with local weather conditions. That makes skies a more visible part of a world’s identity, rather than a single static layer.
Water, surfaces, and variety
Worlds Part I also brought changes to water and planetary surfaces, as well as greater diversity across planets. Hello Games highlighted floating islands on some tropical worlds as one example of the stranger landscapes players may encounter. The announcement describes a broader visual and environmental update, not a guarantee that every planet receives the same features.
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- Embark on an epic voyage, find your own destiny in this epic space adventure
- Includes 6 years of updates
- An entire universe to explore on the go in the palm of your hands
- For the first time ever, PlayStation 5 physical edition as well as Nintendo Switch (physical & digital)
Terrain generation and rendering
Hello Games said it rewrote terrain generation and moved planetary object rendering to a GPU-based system. These are developer-described engineering changes, not independently measured performance results: the official material reviewed here does not provide benchmark figures or a controlled before-and-after test across platforms.
How this update fits with earlier planetary changes
Worlds Part I builds on a longer series of updates, but several well-known planetary effects belong to earlier releases. Keeping those changes distinct helps explain what 5.0 added.
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| Update | Planetary or graphics changes described by Hello Games |
|---|---|
| Origins | Dramatic changes to terrain and planetary diversity; Hello Games said existing worlds would retain their old character. |
| Prisms | Reflections and wet-surface effects, including surfaces becoming slick and damp in rain. |
| Next Generation | Denser planetary vegetation, more detailed geometry, and enhanced rendering on supported hardware. |
| Worlds Part I (update 5.0) | More detailed volumetric clouds, changes to water and planetary surfaces, greater planetary diversity, and developer-described changes to terrain generation and object rendering. |
These are update descriptions, not a controlled comparison of visual quality or performance across hardware. Features such as denser vegetation and rain-slick reflections should not be attributed to Worlds Part I when they were described in earlier updates.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is another planet overhaul coming?
As of October 8, 2026, the latest surfaced official patch note is Cosmos 7.06, dated October 5. Hello Games said it was live on Steam, with other platforms to follow as soon as possible. The Cosmos 7.06 patch notes list fixes, including PC and PS5 crashes; they do not announce another planetary graphics overhaul. That is what this latest surfaced note says, not proof that no other announcement exists.
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![No Man's Sky Standard - PC Steam [Online Game Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/619dfBaaLhL._SL160_.jpg)
- Play with all major updates since launch
- And now with added Cross-Save! No Man’s Sky now supports Cross-Play and Cross-Save between a huge number of platforms including PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro, Xbox One and Series X/S, Game Pass, GOG, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, PlayStation VR 1 & 2 and PCVR.
Rank #3
- Embark on an epic voyage, find your own destiny in this epic space adventure
- Includes 6 years of updates*
- An entire universe to explore on the go in the palm of your hands
- For the first time ever, PlayStation 5 physical edition as well as Nintendo Switch (physical & digital)
- Please note that although this game is Region Free or Region Unlocked and will work on all systems, this is the international version and may differ from the local version in age rating, labeling or instructions.
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