No Man's Sky: The Swarm update adds faction warfare and epic space battles
Hello Games has shipped The Swarm, update 6.40 for No Man's Sky, available today for free across PC (Steam and Microsoft Store), PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. The update centers on Expedition 22, a time-limited community campaign that runs roughly eight weeks. It's the studio's third major update this year alone — and the game is approaching its 10th anniversary in August 2026.
The faction system
At the start of the expedition, players take a personality test that assigns them to one of three rival factions. All three factions are working toward the same goal — constructing a Prismatic Core device capable of stopping the invasion — but they're competing to get there first. Progress for every faction is tracked live on the Galactic Atlas website, and the winning team gets permanently memorialized inside the Space Anomaly hub.
The new threat is the Hive of Glass: a colossal starship of unknown origin surrounded by swarms of agile robodrones. Battles involve hundreds of ships at once. The Hive itself opens its aperture to fire what Hello Games describes as the most powerful laser ever seen in No Man's Sky — capable of wiping out entire fleets.
The rewards
Completing expedition milestones earns a full six-piece Direwasp armour set, a Direwasp jetpack, and a Direwasp multi-tool rifle. Players can also fight Hive spawn on planetary surfaces and clear infestations between space combat sorties. Additional cosmetic items round out the loot pool.
Ten years of course correction
No Man's Sky launched in August 2016 to widespread criticism — an empty universe and undelivered promises. Hello Games responded with a sustained content campaign that now counts 29 major free updates, per Xbox Wire. The Swarm follows two other 2026 updates: Xeno Arena (Pokémon-style creature battles) and Remnant (gravity-gun salvage). According to the PlayStation Blog, the winning faction of Expedition 22 will be commemorated "for all time" in the game world — a neat encapsulation of how Hello Games has turned community engagement into the game's identity.
The Swarm is free for all existing owners. If you haven't played in a while, the expedition timer gives you a concrete reason to jump back in before the eight weeks are up.
