No Man's Sky is getting pets

No Man's Sky companions update
(Image credit: Hello Games)

The galaxy can be quite a lonely place, and there's no bigger galaxy in games than the one in No Man's Sky. But it's about to get considerably less lonely.

You can already tame most creatures by feeding them, and even sit on them and ride them around. But when it comes time to blast off again, you have to say goodbye. Until now! The No Man's Sky Companions update will let you adopt your favorite creature and bring it along with you on your adventures around the galaxy.

(Image credit: Hello Games)

If you're interested in playing mad scientist, your alien companions can also lay eggs, and with the use of a new item found in the Space Anomoly, the Egg Sequencer, you'll be able to tinker with the creature's DNA and breed new species. You can even trade eggs with other players.

Customizable saddles, accessories, and other decorations are available for your pet as well. You'll be able to play with your companion and communicate with them, and your little (or possibly huge) new pet will be able to help you out with the chores, too.

"Train them to scan for resources, mark out hazards, provide light, hunt dangerous fauna, find settlements, excavate buried treasure or even mine for materials with their own shoulder-mounted mining lasers," says Hello Games.

It sounds fun, and a nice improvement for people who don't play multiplayer but would still enjoy a little company while they're zipping around the galaxy. I've met plenty of crab monsters and deer-tigers and bouncy alien blobs I wouldn't mind turning into faithful pets. Have a look at the complete patch notes here.

No Man's Sky companions update

(Image credit: Hello Games)
Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.