The big picture: No Man's Sky was a flop when it launched but in the two and a half years since, Hello Games has worked tirelessly to improve the title and it has shown. Had it launched with all of this content from the beginning, the game's legacy would look far different.

No Man's Sky has experienced a rollercoaster of peaks and valleys from announcement through launch and subsequent updates.

The action-adventure survival game was one of the most anticipated titles in recent memory when it dropped in August 2016 but it was quickly apparent that indie developer Hello Games overpromised and under delivered in a major way. The studio vowed to do right by its customers and although it's taken multiple years to iron out the mess, they've done just that.

On Friday, Hello Games announced the next chapter for No Man's Sky. Dubbed Beyond, it's set to launch this summer and will consist of three major updates rolled into one large release that'll be free for existing players.

The first component of the update is called No Man's Sky Online and includes a "radical new social and multiplayer experience which empowers players everywhere in the universe to meet and play together." Just don't classify it as an MMO, Hello Games said, as it won't require a subscription and won't feature microtransactions. In today's landscape, it's refreshing to hear a developer isn't planning to nickel-and-dime its customers.

Hello Games said it will share more information about each individual component when it knows it can be precise. Expect additional details in the coming weeks.