Oh, No Man’s Sky. Ever since that debut trailer – and all the way up to its release in 2016 – it was the game everyone was talking about. It looked phenomenal: a vast and gorgeous space epic that sent you travelling between worlds and making new discoveries each time you rested your ship on a planet’s surface. Sadly, for most, the full game didn’t deliver on all that promise.

It was an experience that felt incomplete and undercooked. Even if there was some value to inquisitively poking and prodding around different planets, it was often a strange, clunky and sometimes dull journey through the stars. And a solitary one too. But that’s about to change on July 24 with the No Man’s Sky NEXT update.

Hello Games has been supporting No Man’s Sky over the last two years with frequent updates and patches to address many of the concerns players have had since release. We’ve seen the addition of base building, extra ship customisation and an entirely fleshed out single player story, all of which have expanded the game far beyond its limited origins.

However, No Man’s Sky NEXT is the biggest one yet and the debut trailer has blown us away. Now, full (yes, full) multiplayer is coming to No Man’s Sky. You’ll be able to group up with a small team of friends to explore the universe together or tag along with random travellers you meet along the way with your own customisable character. You’ll even be able to attack others players, participate in frenetic space battles and race each other in your ships.

Other new features include an expansion of the game’s base building options. You can now build anywhere on a planet’s surface and have multiple bases to your name. You can even share your shelters with friends or create complex megastructures between you with a selection of new base parts.

You’ll also be able to command freighters, where you can assemble and upgrade a fleet of frigates that you can deploy them across the universe to explore new planets and systems. You can even team up with other players on your freighter to undertake difficult multiplayer missions.

And, yes, you can now play the entire game in third person, too!

Those are the big standout additions coming in No Man’s Sky NEXT, but you can head over to the Hello Games website to peruse the full list of what’s new. There, lead designer Sean Murray also writes that support for No Man’s Sky will continue “for the foreseeable future.”

Do you think this will get you to dig out your old copy of the game, then?

No Man’s Sky NEXT is scheduled for release on PS4, PC and Xbox One on July 24th as a free update.