No Man’s Sky Overhauls Settlements With Beacon Update

The No Man's Sky Beacon update lets you become an intergalactic mayor for multiple towns.

Available now, 'Beacon' is the next major No Man Sky update following 'Relics' in March. Hello Games confirmed this “completely overhauls” settlements by bringing towns and management features with new sci-fi buildings. The studio states you can construct buildings of different types, such as a jukebox bar, fishing ponds, and merchant shops for building custom starships. All buildings can be individually upgraded, too.

Hello Games advises that you can strike up conversations with each of your citizens, who have their own abilities and attributes. Your job as town mayor also involves welcoming new settlers and resolving disputes. Successful management can provide an abundance of resources, though you must defend your settlements too. As mayor, you can hire squadrons to protect your town from roving pirates.

It’s another major update for No Man's Sky and the third we've seen so far in 2025. Relics back in March added paleontology, letting you unearth ancient alien creatures and create museums out of what you find. Elsewhere, January's Worlds Part 2 introduced expanded solar systems with new gas giants, larger oceans, further terrain types and weather conditions, visual updates, and more.

No Man's Sky: Beacon Update is out now on SteamVR, PlayStation VR2, and flatscreen platforms. A Switch 2 Edition will also launch tomorrow as a free update for existing Switch 1 players.