Is No Man's Sky Cross-Platform Between Systems?

Which No Man’s Sky platforms can play together?

No Man’s Sky introduced cross-platform multiplayer for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in June 2020, replacing its networking backend so players could create cross-platform groups and meet through ambient matchmaking. The shared system also covers later PlayStation and Xbox hardware, while the Mac version can join players on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, and VR.

Cross-platform groups can be formed from the multiplayer frontend or inside the game. In shared spaces such as the Space Anomaly, matchmaking may place travellers from different systems together, with platform or controller icons distinguishing them.

How No Man’s Sky crossplay works

No Man’s Sky uses a shared networking architecture rather than restricting multiplayer to one hardware family. A PlayStation player can therefore join an Xbox or PC friend for planetary exploration, base building, survival, and trading without transferring the host’s save.

Crossplay does not merge separate save files. Each traveller keeps their own inventory, discoveries, bases, and mission progress unless they also enable cross-save, which handles progress transfer through the Hello Games cloud.

Is crossplay the same as cross-save?

No. Crossplay determines who can enter the same multiplayer session, while cross-save determines whether one save can continue on another device. A player can use crossplay on a single platform without moving progress elsewhere.

Cross-save supports connected accounts across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo systems, and Mac as of 14 October 2026. Hello Games also lists Steam Deck, GOG, PlayStation VR 1 and 2, and PCVR among the supported versions, allowing one uploaded journey to move between compatible devices rather than forcing a new start.

How to use No Man’s Sky cross-save

Cross-save requires connected platform accounts and a Hello User ID created through the Hello Games cloud service. After the accounts are linked, the most recent save is uploaded automatically and becomes available for download on the other connected platforms.

1. Connect the platform accounts you want to use through the Hello Games cloud account page.
2. Launch No Man’s Sky on a connected system.
3. Use the cloud icon beside a local save if you want to upload an additional file.
4. Open the in-game Cross-Save Manager on the other platform.
5. Download the required cloud save to that device’s local storage.

The service stores up to five saves in cross-platform storage. If two files have conflicting sizes or timestamps, the Cross-Save Manager asks which version to keep, so choosing the file with the progress you want prevents the other version from replacing it.

What can stop cross-platform multiplayer from working?

Different game builds can temporarily prevent players from joining each other when an update reaches one platform before another. Installing the current update on every participating system removes that version mismatch once the same build is available to the group.

Account-level multiplayer permissions and platform network requirements can also affect access even when No Man’s Sky crossplay is functioning. Cross-save adds another dependency: the relevant platform accounts must be connected, and the cross-save toggle for the current platform must be active before a cloud file appears.

What carries over with cross-progression?

Cross-progression comes from downloading the same cloud save on another connected platform. The downloaded file carries the journey stored in that save, allowing the player to continue exploration rather than creating a separate traveller on each device.

Because cross-save uses selected files rather than combining independent playthroughs, progress made offline on two devices can create a conflict. The system compares file size and timestamp and asks which save should remain in cross-platform storage; it does not combine the different changes into one file.

For a broader look at exploration, survival, and procedurally generated worlds, see games similar to No Man’s Sky.