No Man's Sky 4.0 - Waypoint brings the "biggest generational jump so far" and an all-new "Relaxed Mode"

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Enjoy a better inventory, new collectibles and milestones, and higher level caps

No Man's Sky 4.0, otherwise known as the Waypoint update, has arrived bearing hefty design changes to satisfy veterans as well as a new game mode targeting new and returning players. 

Update 4.0 is out now across PC (with Steam Deck and VR support), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X (including Game Pass), and now Nintendo Switch, with Waypoint ringing in the long-awaited Switch port. It's No Man's Sky's 21st "major free update," and developer Hello Games also reckons its "perhaps our biggest generational jump so far." 

"Starting as we mean to continue, No Man’s Sky launches on Switch with its first major update, and it’s no coincidence that many of our changes are focused on making No Man’s Sky a more pick-up and play experience for new and returning players on that mobile platform," Hello Game says of the update and Switch launch.

Waypoint is described as a fundamental overhaul that "lays the foundation for the future." For starters, there's a big inventory revision which streamlines all the clutter with clearer categories and icons. The update has also "dramatically expanded" inventory sizes and increased the level caps for the ships, weapons, and characters eating up all your resources. 

Hello Games promises "hundreds" of quality of life improvements requested by players, like a new "continual" auto-save system, more accessibility settings, added control options, as well as detailed customization with sliders for basics like combat and crafting. You can adjust the abundance of resources, the damage your constructs take, the consequences of death (from no items lost to your frickin' save getting deleted), and plenty more on a granular level. These difficulty settings can also be adjusted at any time, so if something ever feels too punishing or too easy, you can always dial things in.  

These difficulty settings are part of a package of new game modes meant to broaden the experiences No Man's Sky can offer. As part of that push, Waypoint has also added a "Relaxed mode" preset which focuses on exploration and storytelling "with reduced danger and minimal grind." On the other end of the spectrum, longtime players can take on new survival challenges and pursue new milestones. 

Check out the full patch notes for a more in-depth breakdown.  

We recently chatted to Hello Games boss Sean Murray about bringing No Man's Sky to Switch. Spoilers: it wasn't easy. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.