No Man's Sky Origins 3.0 update reboots and expands the universe at an epic scale

Hello Games just took the 18 quintillion planets of No Man's Sky and, somehow, added more. With the free 3.0 Origins update, the universe has expanded, with each new planet full of fresh creatures, ecosystems, terrain, abandoned ancient colonies and more that you've never seen before.

Claiming to have doubled the available diversity in-game, Hello Games also has announced enhancements to the UI, weather variety, terrain detail, color palette, planet quality settings and atmospheric lighting, so the worlds you already know and love will appear more vibrant and dynamic than ever.

The patch notes for the release are massive, and include plenty of screenshots and explanations of all the ways that the game has been improved. We've highlighted some of the best No Man's Sky updates in the gallery below.

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Each planet, old and new, can now feature new plant life. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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Beware sudden lightning storms, gravitational anomalies, tornadoes and meteor impacts. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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Not only are there new creatures, they also exhibit new behaviors like flocking together in large herds. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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Giant beetles and butterflies now make an appearance in-game. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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Wild synthetic "animals" can now be found natively on some planets. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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New colors make an appearance in the latest planetary ecosystems. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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"Colossal Archive Buildings" now exist. Explore them for treasure (Image credit: Hello Games)

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Clouds can vary in color and shape over time, and their appearance from space will match how they look on the surface. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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Hello Games also altered the "atmospheric illumination" patterns on some planets. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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Explore mysterious, abandoned buildings on dead planets. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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You can now filter out planets on the map that you've already visited. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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The teleporter interface has been updated, letting you know more about your intended destinations before choosing one. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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Along with new fauna, you'll also find dangerous infestations and growths. (Image credit: Hello Games)

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New solar systems can now have multiple suns. (Image credit: Hello Games)

Out of the many, many changes, there are some highlights that will make you want to explore just one more planet. 

The number of threats you'll face on a given planet has multiplied. Active volcanoes, firestorms, tornadoes and even erratic gravity shifts can all strike at a moment's notice. Along with the cute new critters you can eat, you may run into massive sandworms that erupt from beneath you. You'll even find wild robots on planets where evolution occurred synthetically instead of organically.

The update also removed the hated "Portal Interference" mechanic that prevented you from teleporting or checking your Galactic Map after stepping through a portal. This had been one of the top-requested changes from No Man's Sky players, and will make exploring that much easier with the Origins 3.0 update.

For a look at more of the changes Hello Games made, the No Man's Sky Origins launch trailer shows off just how beautiful and diverse the game looks now.

Perfecting an already great game

No Man's Sky has undergone a renaissance since its 2016 launch. Once criticized for being a massive, empty world with nothing to do, the game has made enormous strides, even before Origins launched today.

Last year's update, Beyond, established multiplayer, VR and other content changes to make the world feel more lived in. Between Beyond and Origins, the developers inserted cross-play support between Xbox One, PC and PS4; released the Desolation update that added freaky deserted freighters with alien monsters lurking in the shadows; and even gave players an Exo Mech suit with a built-in jetpack.

With more and more content arriving per year, we're excited to see what Hello Games has in store next for its universe.

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