The year-in-the-making overhaul update for No Man's Sky, Next, is out in the wild for PS4, Xbox One and PC. While longtime players are getting stability and crash flashbacks similar to when the game launched back in 2016, the overall reception has been positive. The major changes to the planets, economy, and questline have produced a more structured, intuitive experience, as long as you still don't mind a bit of crafting grind.
There's just one tiny problem. The 4-player co-op multiplayer, a feature originally planned for launch but only now just implemented in Next, is MIA on GOG Galaxy. GOG and developer Hello Games issued a statement saying there just wasn't time to implement multiplayer for Galaxy before the Next patch went live, but the multiplayer everyone else is enjoying right now will be added to GOG before the end of the year. That's right, GOG customers who have waited years for No Man's Sky multiplayer will have to wait even longer.
Honestly, I can sympathize with Hello Games. They've really turned No Man's Sky around and what I'm hearing from friends is that Next makes it feel like a whole new game. Porting it to Xbox One within one year must have been an undertaking. But as a GOG customer, the "we're such a small team, please have patience" excuse is wearing pretty thin for me. I can't believe that they couldn't have coordinated with GOG to get a major new feature like multiplayer implemented concurrently with other platforms.
Hello Games worked incredibly hard to atone for their past indiscretions and win back their paying customers who felt cheated when No Man's Sky shipped in an incomplete state back in 2016. That takes guts and dedication. But after going through that process of disappointment and waiting, I'd be lying if I didn't say this GOG multiplayer situation soured my opinion of the game just that little bit more. Here's hoping GOG customers like me don't have to wait too long to get our multiplayer.
