In No Man’s Sky, the gas giants added in Worlds Part II are described as “ten times bigger than our biggest planet,” according to Hello Games founder Sean Murray. That is an in-game comparison—not a measurement of real planets. The update, version 5.50, launched on January 29, 2025, bringing new planetary environments, exploration challenges, story content, and an expedition.
How big are the gas giants in No Man’s Sky?
Murray’s description is the clearest scale figure Hello Games gives: “Gas giants are truly epic, ten times bigger than our biggest planet.” The comparison is to the largest planet already in No Man’s Sky, not to Earth, Jupiter, or any astronomical measurement. The official announcement frames exploration of these worlds as end-game content, with large storms adding to the challenge. Hello Games’ January 29, 2025 announcement does not describe the planets as physically simulated to match real gas giants.
What Worlds Part II added
Worlds Part II is update 5.50, a major update to No Man’s Sky rather than a separate expansion. Hello Games presents it as adding new stars, story, and planets. Its new environments are found in purple-class star systems, and include several distinct kinds of worlds.
- Stormy gas giants: Hostile, planet-wide storms and challenging conditions make these imposing destinations. They dominate their collections of orbiting moons, and their gravity affects nearby exploration.
- Rare non-gas giants: The update also adds uncommon giant planets that are not gas giants.
- Deeper oceans: Some planets that are not classified as waterworlds can have exceptionally deep water. Murray said the new technology allows oceans “that can be several kilometers deep.”
- Water-bearing moons: Moons in the new purple-class systems can also have water.
The update adds terrain deposits and atmospheric gases to harvest on gas giants and waterworlds, along with new refining recipes that use the added materials. Quartzite deposits appear on all planets in purple-class systems. See the official Worlds Part II feature page for the update’s environment and resource details.
#1 Best Overall
- 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)
What else came with the update?
Worlds Part II also expands the experience beyond planetary scale. Hello Games’ announcement highlights lighting changes, including caustics and light shafts, new creatures, a major quest that brings together earlier story threads, and an expedition that tours the new worlds. These are features described by the developer, not performance or gameplay-test results.
To play, check No Man’s Sky for your platform; Worlds Part II is an update to the base game, not a standalone release.
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- Region Free Australia
- 100% Compatible With USA Playstation 4 Console
- Region 2 (AUS) or 4 (EUR) Required for DLC Redemption or Purchases
- Playstation VR Compatible (optional)
Which version and platforms?
Version 5.50 is the launch version of Worlds Part II, not a statement of the game’s current version. Hello Games’ release log lists the update for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass, as well as later 5.5x patches. A February 6, 2025 patch 5.54 post documented an Xbox release and a fix for a problem catching some fish on gas giants; that dated note does not establish today’s version or bug status.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
![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.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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