No Man’s Sky The Swarm Update Unleashes the Biggest Space War Yet

Hello Games has officially launched the new No Man’s Sky The Swarm update, introducing one of the game’s most ambitious live events yet. Released on May 27 as update version 6.4 / 6.040, the expansion adds a galaxy-wide war against a mysterious new enemy force known as the Hive of Glass, along with massive space battles, new robotic enemies, faction-based competition and exclusive expedition rewards.

The update arrives just months before No Man’s Sky reaches its 10-year anniversary, and developer Sean Murray described The Swarm as one of the biggest sci-fi moments the studio has created for the game so far.

Players Divided Into Three Factions

The center of the update is Expedition Twenty-Two: The Swarm, a limited-time event expected to run for around eight weeks. When players begin the expedition, they are assigned to one of three Traveller factions — Royal, Sage or Weaver. Each group receives its own team colors, ship setup and identity.

All three factions must work together to unlock the final battle against the Hive of Glass, but there is also competition involved. The faction contributing the most to the war effort will eventually be memorialized permanently inside the Space Anomaly.

Community progress is tracked through the Nexus, Mission Log and the Galactic Atlas. Players contribute by completing missions tied to three categories: Purge, Restoration and Sabotage. These activities directly affect the construction of the Prismatic Core, which acts as the community’s defense project against the Swarm.

Biggest Space Battles in No Man’s Sky

The Hive of Glass introduces entirely new enemy types into the universe. Players will encounter agile robotic swarmer ships, planetary swarm drones and a giant boss structure capable of unleashing devastating laser attacks powerful enough to destroy freighter fleets.

Hello Games says The Swarm contains the largest space battles ever added to No Man’s Sky, with hundreds of ships fighting simultaneously during major encounters. Combat improvements in the update include better third-person aiming, improved enemy AI, upgraded auto-follow mechanics and clearer enemy targeting during battles.

Outside of space combat, players can explore crashed swarmer sites on dissonant planets, salvage destroyed drone technology and investigate the origins of the Hive network. Some missions also involve sabotaging swarm operations directly on planetary surfaces.

New Rewards, Performance Improvements and More

The expedition includes several exclusive rewards, including the Direwasp rifle Multi-Tool, the Direwasp Flightpack jetpack, faction-themed flags, posters, decals, titles and a six-piece Direwasp armor customization set with a retro sci-fi design.

The update also delivers multiple performance optimizations and bug fixes across all platforms. Hello Games improved freighter battle performance, ship trail rendering and visibility handling in large scenes. Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One versions also received additional optimization updates.

According to the official No Man’s Sky release log, smaller patches and hotfixes are expected to follow in the coming days as players begin exploring the new content.

Readers interested in more gaming coverage can also check Swikblog’s feature on Top 5 Gaming Trends in 2026, covering major shifts happening across the gaming industry this year.

Nearly a decade after launch, No Man’s Sky continues to evolve in unexpected ways. Instead of slowing down, Hello Games is pushing the universe into larger community-driven events, and The Swarm may become one of the game’s biggest updates yet.

Make Swikblog your go-to source on Google for reliable updates, smart insights, and daily trends.