'No Man's Sky's 'Next' Update Gives Us the Game We Were Promised Two Years Ago

No Man's Sky debuted to massive hype. The prospect of flying around a randomly generated universe with friends and piloting space cruisers in massive-scale battles was a childhood dream brought to virtual fruition. When Sean Murray and the Hello Games team eventually unveiled their opus, fans were underwhelmed, to say the least. The universe was fairly empty, there was way too much mining and you couldn't actually play with friends. But for the last two years, No Man's Sky has slowly been transforming into the game we were promised, and next weeks' big update might finally help it reach that precipice.

No Man's Sky 's "Next" update adds multiplayer, along with a completely rebooted, procedurally generated universe. A new trailer shows exploring and flying together, a first for the game. "We always wanted No Man's Sky to grow and develop after it released," Murray said on Twitter. "It's been a crazy two years, but I'm so happy we've been able to do that."

The update releases July 24, the same day the game finally receives an Xbox One port.

But is it too little, too late? It's hard to feel hype anymore for No Man's Sky. When I saw the original footage from the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2015, I was floored. The game promised an experience the likes of which we had never seen before, with endless possibilities and worlds to explore. Instead, we got a farming simulator with janky dinosaurs and glitches.

Maybe the "Next" update can reinvigorate the hype for No Man's Sky , but it's hard to imagine how, this long after the game disappointed so many players.

Do you think the No Man's Sky Next update can save the game or is it too late? Tell us in the comments.