No Man's Sky update adds freaky living spaceships you can hatch from eggs

Hello Games is on the brink of releasing yet another free update to space sandbox No Man's Sky, and this one is already looking like the weirdest update yet. It's called the Living Ship update, and will introduce new biological ships to No Man's Sky. They certainly look alive in the trailer above (featuring the voice of the late Rutger Hauer), and in an even more interesting twist, players will not only be able to fly these organic ships but actually hatch them from eggs and grow them to adulthood.

Living ships you hatch from eggs and grow from babies into adults and then fly around in isn't the only weirdness coming in the Living Ship update. New and strange "points of interest" will begin appearing in solar systems as you explore the galaxy. 

And I do mean strange. Odd, pulsating energy orbs, interesting and intimidating space stations, and here, take a look at this gigantic space skull and puzzle over what kind of alien creature might have left it in orbit:

(Image credit: Hello Games)

Can you build a base inside that thing? I'm guessing players will definitely want to build a base inside that thing. A skull base in space. What astronaut wouldn't want that? While you're exploring, you might also run into new space NPCs, vendors who will hail your ship and trade with you, need help, or provide other (perhaps menacing) interactions.

The living ships have new biological tech and organic cockpits, too, so I hope you're into steering your spaceship by yanking on weird tentacles and tendrils. It should be doubly bizarre in VR. An origin story mission will lead you through the 'ancient Korvax experiments' that resulted in the creation of these living ships.

Have a peek at some more screenshots below to whet your appetite, and don't worry about having to wait too long to grow your own organic spaceship. The Living Ship update is coming this week, and also brings along plenty of optimizations and bug fixes. You can find out more here.

(Image credit: Hello Games)

(Image credit: Hello Games)

(Image credit: Hello Games)

(Image credit: Hello Games)

(Image credit: Hello Games)

(Image credit: Hello Games)
Christopher Livingston
Staff Writer

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.