A new No Man's Sky update is going live today, and it's a huge one for the Pokemon-loving, creature-collecting sickos like me, because Xeno Arena is all about raising and battling the many alien creatures found in Hello Games' vast universe.
Hello Games managing director Sean Murray had been teasing something for the last few days in his own traditional fashion – via emojis. This time, he'd been filling his Twitter feed with stadiums – or so we thought, as he was clearly going for the Arena part of the new update's name, instead.
"Xeno Arena lets you raise, train, and battle the alien creatures found across the universe," Murray now explains. "Most of the planets you've visited in your travels have always been teeming with wildlife – and now, for the first time, those creatures are not just your companions, but your squad and maybe your champions!"
As Murray puts it, Hello Games has already got a "whole universe filled with an infinite variety of creatures," including "everything from dinosaurs to flying cows to robots to gaseous blobs." But what if they could be more than just wildlife? What if, say, someone wanted to catch 'em all?
"We started with this thought that you can discover them and name them... but what if all that variety had a gameplay purpose? What if you could collect them, breed them, have them as pets... but also battle them?" Murray continues.
When it comes to creature-collecting mechanics like these, it's impossible to escape comparisons to games like Pokemon, but Hello Games isn't shying away from that. In fact, Murray even points to the series directly, alongside a couple of other inspirations.
"We are huge fans of Pokemon, Palworld, and pet battling in World of Warcraft," he shares. "Now when discovering a rare robotic creature in a far flung purple system planet, you can check their abilities, and for instance discover a powerful neutron blast attack. Suddenly it brings a new dimension to exploration. Rare creatures and beautiful pets become something exciting to show off in the Arena."
From today's update, you'll be able to find holo-arenas in the Nexus and in Space Stations, where you can battle against NPCs as well as friends and other players. New daily challenges will give rewards, and Murray describes it as "an entire multiplayer game all of its own, with absolutely tons of depth, now existing within No Man's Sky." There'll be ranks to strive for, as well as seasonal rewards in the future, so it definitely sounds fleshed out.
It's the creature variety he talks about that gets me super hyped, though – every species will have "unique elemental affinities tied to their xeno species and linked to their home world," giving them different abilities depending on where they were found. The pets found in rarer biomes sound like they'll be stronger, and you can even find "legendary variants with unusual and exceptional stats that can be incredibly valuable."
You can train creatures up (they get stronger from battles, being fed, and when you increase your bond with them), breed them, and even genetically modify them to "create new variants and unique colors," too. I can't wait to see how deep these systems go, but regardless, we can definitely expect that traditional fun that comes with building a team and growing attached to your new buddies: "The satisfaction of watching a scrappy little creature you found on a desolate moon grow into a fearsome arena champion is something we're really proud of," Murray adds.
Xeno Arena appears to have a lot of potential – its new additions sound like they could potentially steal hundreds more hours of players' time, especially for the completionists who want to collect every pet available (and their rare variants).
This August, No Man's Sky will turn 10 years old, and, obviously, the survival game has grown and improved significantly since its once-controversial launch. Murray "couldn't be prouder," and is full of thanks to the players for their support. "For any game to reach such a milestone is a privilege," he adds. "It wouldn't be possible without your continued support and we genuinely appreciate it."
