No Man's Sky's new free update adds robot settlements you can be mayor of, and it'll be on Switch 2 day 1: "A huge leap forward"

You can now take the universe with you wherever you go, as No Man's Sky will be available on Switch 2 at launch alongside its new Beacon update.

Releasing tomorrow, June 5, Beacon is yet another free No Man's Sky update. This one aims to change the way you interact with settlements by overhauling them completely. There are huge new robotic settlements to uncover, and now, rather than just an outpost or a few scattered buildings, there will be full towns that you can become mayor of and manage.

You'll be able to construct buildings, upgrade them, add jukebox bars to create your town's very own soundtrack, bring in merchants so you can build custom starships, and you can relax by fishing ponds. Who needs the infinite frontier of space when you have a nice little pond?

You can also chat with the locals, and as mayor it'll be up to you who joins. You'll also be the arbiter of any arguments that arise between the settlers. These people need defending too, so you'll be able to hire a squad of wingmen who'll leap into action should pirates attack.

It's a far cry from the original planet-hopping adventure No Man's Sky started out as, but it seems like a cool way to invest more in the planets you fall in love with on your journey.

Best of all, if you were lucky enough to snag a Switch 2 pre-order, you can play the Switch 2 version as soon as you boot up your console. This upgrade comes with enhanced textures, better UI resolution, cross-save so you can play on any device, and full multiplayer, something the game doesn't have on the Switch 1.

A press release reads: "For the last year we've had this secret room with some Switch 2 dev-kits from Nintendo." That year has been well spent, as the upgrade is "a huge leap forward." The frame rate is higher, the density of detail is greater, and the game can render further than it did on the original Switch.

If you're not a fan of space exploration, check out all the other confirmed Switch 2 launch games.