No Mans Sky: The Swarm Update Arrives with Factions and Space War

Hello Games has released The Swarm, version 6.4 of No Man's Sky, on May 27, 2026. This update introduces three player factions, hostile drone swarms, and large-scale combat against the alien ship Glass Hive. Joining a faction grants unique armor, jetpack, and weapons, while members of the winning group will receive special in-game recognition.

Three player factions in crystalline armor clashing inside a derelict space station, swarm of hostile drones converging on a central Glass Hive alien ship, jetpack trails and laser fire crisscrossing the battlefield, damaged holographic faction terminals flickering below, cinematic sci-fi combat scene, detailed spacecraft hull textures, volumetric debris clouds, dramatic backlighting from reactor breaches, photorealistic engineering visualization, glowing faction insignias on armor and weapons, ultra-detailed mechanical joints on drones, high-contrast industrial lighting

How version 6.4 scales combat with swarms and factions 🚀

Technically, The Swarm expands multiplayer systems with a persistent faction model that tracks each side's progress on dedicated servers. Drone swarms use emergent behavior AI to coordinate massive attacks against ships and bases. The Glass Hive acts as a dynamic final boss, with phases requiring player coordination. Performance has been optimized to handle up to 64 simultaneous players in space combat without frame drops on current PCs and consoles.

Joining a faction: the perfect excuse to wear new armor 🎨

Because of course, after ten years exploring empty galaxies and raising aliens with spider legs, what was really missing was a faction war with cosmetic rewards. Now you can choose between three factions whose only purpose is to give you a differently colored jetpack and a shiny weapon. Sure, if your faction loses, at least you'll have the armor to cry in style while the winners flaunt their special title.