Hello Games has officially launched the anticipated No Man’s Sky Swarm update (Patch 6.4), bringing an intense, combat-focused community expedition alongside performance boosts. Whether you are piloting starships on a console or playing on the go via cloud gaming and handheld devices, this update introduces major gameplay additions and technical improvements for portable play.
At the center of Patch 6.4 is “The Swarm,” No Man’s Sky’s 22nd Expedition. Running for approximately eight weeks, this limited-time campaign fragments the player community into three rival teams. While the teams must compete, everyone must work together to construct the Prismatic Core to take down a galactic threat.
Players who participate in the war effort can look forward to new themed rewards, including:
- The Direwasp Armour: A heavy-duty, six-piece cosmetic combat set forged from swarmer alloys.
- The Direwasp Flightpack: An exclusive buzzing jetpack.
- The Direwasp Disintegrator: A balanced, high-powered rifle Multi-tool designed to eliminate swarmers without causing player fatigue.
Handheld and Cloud Enhancements
We are thrilled to see that Hello Games continues to refine No Man’s Sky for smaller screens and controller layouts. Several key quality-of-life updates and optimization fixes stand out in the latest patch notes:
- Nintendo Switch Improvements: The update delivers improved performance when driving wheeled Exocraft on the Switch. It also specifically resolves a graphical glitch where Corrupted Sentinels would flicker rapidly on Nintendo Switch 1 and 2 hardware.
- Handheld UI Clutter Reduction: Handheld and PC players using controllers will no longer see keyboard hotkey prompts for the Quick Menu when playing without a mouse and keyboard, cleaning up the HUD on smaller displays.
- Touch Screen Support: Players on Switch and mobile cloud layouts can now easily claim expedition rewards using direct touch controls.
- Visual & Scene Optimization: The engine receives substantial performance updates for CPU-intensive lighting calculations, object visibility in complex scenes, and freighter battles. These tweaks are highly beneficial for stable frame rates on portable PCs like the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go, as well as minimizing artifacts when streaming via cloud services like GeForce NOW and Xbox Cloud.
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