Frontiers, the next major update for No Man's Sky, adds another layer of content to the game as it populates its procedural universe with bustling towns brimming with NPCs for players to interact with, explore, and even run – not to mention nebulas, expanded base building, improved combat, and more.

Hello Games has announced a range of details surrounding its free Frontiers expansion in a press release. The company says that since its launch, it has always wanted players to let players "step into the cover of a science fiction book" and that the release of the game's new expansion brings another aspect of that into reality. Amongst other notable additions, Frontiers will allow players to find 'living, breathing Mos Eisley type settlements' on once-barren alien planets.

Following the update, new life will spring into the game's procedurally generated landscape through NPC-populated settlements. Players embarking across galaxies will be able to interact with settlements and grant assistance to their residents many of whom will be harbored with their own problems.

In addition to providing citizen assistance, the Frontiers expansion will allow budding adventurers across the game to become the Overseer of a settlement. In addition to the new swanky title, becoming a Settlement Overseer will allow players a range of new in-game options.

First and foremost, settlement leaders will be able to grow their towns by constructing new buildings and accepting new inhabitants. According to Hello Games, newly formed settlements will start off as little more than a sparsely populated cluster of buildings inhabited by a small collection of NPCs. It will be the job of the town's newly found Overseer to govern and manage the resources necessary to allow the population of the settlement to grow and become a flourishing town.

In line with the rest of the game, each settlement will be procedurally generated. This means that each community that players should happen across should be unique not only in terms of its inhabitants but also its buildings, neighborhood layout, color schemes, and both interior and exterior decorations. With the sheer size of the universe in No Man's Sky, we're willing to bet there will be some choice color combinations out there. Yellow and green anyone?

In addition to adding buildings to their new-found settlements, Overseers will also be able to make important policy decisions for their townsfolk going forward. Starting out as newly appointed galactic politicians, players will be able to grapple with a range of issues ranging from treasury management to town planning and conflict resolution. In the case of the latter, Hello Games says that when called upon to help resolve disagreements between settlers, "fair and compassionate judgments will result in happier citizens". Whilst it isn't yet clear exactly how happiness will be measured or what ramifications could result from unhappy citizens, it would certainly be an interesting twist to see a group of intergalactic NPCs surmount a revolution.

In addition to the new settlement mechanics that will feature in the Frontiers update, No Man's Sky will feature a number of other noteworthy additions in the expansion. According to Hello Games, the studio will be making a number of improvements to base building. On top of adding new structural sets of timber, stone, and alloy pieces that will allow for a greater range of building shapes, Frontiers will also add more than a hundred new decorative parts for prospective builders. The expansion will also introduce a new HUD for placing building parts and incorporate a new free place mode which will allow players to pick up, duplicate and move parts that they've already placed onto the environment.

If, instead of building bases and settling down as an intergalactic Overseer, you'd rather be flying through the vast expanse of deep space causing trouble and fighting your way through anything that stands before you, Frontiers has you covered for content there too. Interstellar clouds gathering in deep space will add vivid nebulas to No Man's Sky whilst Hello Games also notes that almost all of the game's visual effects have been improved. In terms of combat, Frontiers should make weapons and explosions feel more powerful and add "a new visceral element to combat".

Frontiers also brings the game's third Expedition, called Cartographers. "The event starts all players in the same place and, as the name suggests, focuses on planetary mapping and exploration," reads the press release. "With unique new challenges and rewards, players will need to thoroughly explore their starting world to escape the toxic atmosphere of planet Gisto Major." One of the previous expeditions added Mass Effect's Normandy ship into the game - here's hoping for similar surprises here too.

Finally, the studio has also announced that it will be running another Twitch campaign for the game soon. This means that No Man's Sky rewards will be available for players to earn by watching streamers play the game online. Despite the announcement, Hello Games hasn't shared further specifics about its upcoming Twitch campaign at the time of writing. You an read the full Frontiers patch notes right now.

If you'd like to find out more about No Man's Sky then why not check out our dedicated page for the game where you can read about the game's previous expansions and more.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Developer/Publisher PM Studios has announced No Longer Human, a game with a unique visual art style and gameplay that's described by PM itself as "a high-energy cybergoth action fvck-em-up." It is expected to be released in 2022 for PC, with a console release also planned but no details given. Check out the announcement trailer above.

The developers cite Devil May Cry and Smash Bros. influences, with support for speedrunning also being baked into the design. You play Tsunono, a woman who is a total badass in the metaverse that anyone can easily access and immerse themselves in within this near-future world.

Gameplay features include upgradeable special attacks and moves, an "abrasive" digital hardcore soundtrack, and freeform combat. Stay tuned to PAX West, beginning today, for more on No Longer Human.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Developer/Publisher PM Studios has announced No Longer Human, a game with a unique visual art style and gameplay that's described by PM itself as "a high-energy cybergoth action fvck-em-up." It is expected to be released in 2022 for PC, with a console release also planned but no details given. Check out the announcement trailer above.

The developers cite Devil May Cry and Smash Bros. influences, with support for speedrunning also being baked into the design. You play Tsunono, a woman who is a total badass in the metaverse that anyone can easily access and immerse themselves in within this near-future world.

Gameplay features include upgradeable special attacks and moves, an "abrasive" digital hardcore soundtrack, and freeform combat. Stay tuned to PAX West, beginning today, for more on No Longer Human.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Rachael Leigh Cook has shared her regrets over not taking on the role of Rogue in 2000's X-Men movie, saying she recognized early on that she had made a mistake.

In an interview with The New York Times published on Sunday, Cook spoke about her decision to decline the role of Rogue in Bryan Singer's X-Men movie more than 20 years ago. The actress passed on the part because she wanted to avoid acting on a green screen but says she realized her mistake as soon as she saw the posters for the big-budget flick.

Cook noted the move had been a "huge misstep" in her career, as she reflected back on her decision to focus on independent movies. "I really thought what everyone told me was correct when they said, 'What we need to do now is make sure you're taken seriously,'" Cook told the publication, acknowledging that she "definitely did things for the wrong reasons."

The role of Rogue ultimately went to Cook's She's All That co-star Anna Paquin, who played the iconic Marvel character in four of the X-Men movies from 2000 to 2014. Paquin was slated to have a larger role in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but it was cut down before the movie hit the big screen, with Singer later releasing a straight-to-home video "Rogue Cut" of the film.

Now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, the future of the X-Men franchise has become an extremely hot topic considering the MCU made it all the way to Avengers: Endgame with nary a mutant. That spell might be set to last a little longer yet, but it doesn't mean that Marvel hasn't been busy laying the groundwork for the mutant superheroes to show up.

Phase 4 could be setting the stage for mutants in the MCU, so you may want to pay attention to Marvel's upcoming releases, particularly Eternals, which is coming out later this year, as well as 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — a movie that could potentially introduce Namor as a big-screen baddie.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Rachael Leigh Cook has shared her regrets over not taking on the role of Rogue in 2000's X-Men movie, saying she recognized early on that she had made a mistake.

In an interview with The New York Times published on Sunday, Cook spoke about her decision to decline the role of Rogue in Bryan Singer's X-Men movie more than 20 years ago. The actress passed on the part because she wanted to avoid acting on a green screen but says she realized her mistake as soon as she saw the posters for the big-budget flick.

Cook noted the move had been a "huge misstep" in her career, as she reflected back on her decision to focus on independent movies. "I really thought what everyone told me was correct when they said, 'What we need to do now is make sure you're taken seriously,'" Cook told the publication, acknowledging that she "definitely did things for the wrong reasons."

The role of Rogue ultimately went to Cook's She's All That co-star Anna Paquin, who played the iconic Marvel character in four of the X-Men movies from 2000 to 2014. Paquin was slated to have a larger role in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but it was cut down before the movie hit the big screen, with Singer later releasing a straight-to-home video "Rogue Cut" of the film.

Now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, the future of the X-Men franchise has become an extremely hot topic considering the MCU made it all the way to Avengers: Endgame with nary a mutant. That spell might be set to last a little longer yet, but it doesn't mean that Marvel hasn't been busy laying the groundwork for the mutant superheroes to show up.

Phase 4 could be setting the stage for mutants in the MCU, so you may want to pay attention to Marvel's upcoming releases, particularly Eternals, which is coming out later this year, as well as 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — a movie that could potentially introduce Namor as a big-screen baddie.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Respawn has announced that it will remove tap-strafing (a movement technique used by PC players) from the game in its next patch. It's been seen by some as a controversial move from the developer, and feedback from across the community has been polarised.

News of the removal of tap-strafing was shared by Respawn on their Twitter account. The company said, "After much consideration and debate, we've decided to remove tap-strafing from [Apex Legends] in patch 10.1. Our reasoning: It's inaccessible, lacks readability/counterplay, and is exacerbated by movement abilities."

After much consideration and debate, we've decided to remove tap-strafing from @playapex in patch 10.1.

Our reasoning: It's inaccessible, lacks readability/counterplay, and is exacerbated by movement abilities.

The next patch notes will include a more detailed note about this.

— Respawn (@Respawn) August 31, 2021

Prior to its removal, criticism towards the inclusion of tap-strafing within the game could predominantly be heard from the community's console players. The high skill movement technique can only be achieved on PC and essentially involves a combination of air strafing, b-hopping, and movement adjustments to modify a player's momentum in the air, allowing them to turn sharply and precisely mid-flight.

Despite it being felt by some players that the inclusion of tap-strafing within the game was unfair, its removal has also seen outcry. Across the game's subreddit, some Apex players have complained that the removal of tap-strafing hugely impacts PC players who utilize a movement-based playstyle within the game. In a similar vein, others felt that the change acted as a nerf for PC players generally, who would still come up against controller players aided in combat by aim assist.

The removal of tap-strafing isn't the only recent change to Apex that has come following community pressure. After the launch of Apex's newest Legend, Seer, the studio took the decision to nerf the character following criticism from its fanbase who felt like a number of the character's abilities were unbalanced and broke the action of Apex Legends.

Apex Legends' tenth season kicked off on August 3 and will run for the foreseeable future. If you're just starting out in the game then make sure to check out our top five tips and tricks for beginners in the game.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Respawn has announced that it will remove tap-strafing (a movement technique used by PC players) from the game in its next patch. It's been seen by some as a controversial move from the developer, and feedback from across the community has been polarised.

News of the removal of tap-strafing was shared by Respawn on their Twitter account. The company said, "After much consideration and debate, we've decided to remove tap-strafing from [Apex Legends] in patch 10.1. Our reasoning: It's inaccessible, lacks readability/counterplay, and is exacerbated by movement abilities."

After much consideration and debate, we've decided to remove tap-strafing from @playapex in patch 10.1.

Our reasoning: It's inaccessible, lacks readability/counterplay, and is exacerbated by movement abilities.

The next patch notes will include a more detailed note about this.

— Respawn (@Respawn) August 31, 2021

Prior to its removal, criticism towards the inclusion of tap-strafing within the game could predominantly be heard from the community's console players. The high skill movement technique can only be achieved on PC and essentially involves a combination of air strafing, b-hopping, and movement adjustments to modify a player's momentum in the air, allowing them to turn sharply and precisely mid-flight.

Despite it being felt by some players that the inclusion of tap-strafing within the game was unfair, its removal has also seen outcry. Across the game's subreddit, some Apex players have complained that the removal of tap-strafing hugely impacts PC players who utilize a movement-based playstyle within the game. In a similar vein, others felt that the change acted as a nerf for PC players generally, who would still come up against controller players aided in combat by aim assist.

The removal of tap-strafing isn't the only recent change to Apex that has come following community pressure. After the launch of Apex's newest Legend, Seer, the studio took the decision to nerf the character following criticism from its fanbase who felt like a number of the character's abilities were unbalanced and broke the action of Apex Legends.

Apex Legends' tenth season kicked off on August 3 and will run for the foreseeable future. If you're just starting out in the game then make sure to check out our top five tips and tricks for beginners in the game.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Brendan Greene, aka PlayerUnknown and the creator of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, has announced the formation of a new independent game studio in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Greene was originally a modder whose experiments with the battle royale genre eventually led to the creation of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. He was later hired by Bluehole to continue developing the game under the newly formed PUBG Studios.

Following the success of PUBG, Bluehole renamed itself Krafton and in 2019 Greene announced he was stepping away from PUBG to work on experimental projects with a small team in Amsterdam.

However, Greene is now leaving the company altogether to form his own independent studio, though Krafton will hold a minority stake in Greene’s new company.

“I’m so very grateful to everyone at PUBG and Krafton for taking a chance on me and for the opportunities they afforded me over the past four years,” Greene says in a statement. “Today, I’m excited to take the next step on my journey to create the kind of experience I’ve envisaged for years.”

Greene’s new studio hasn’t revealed its name or what it’s working on, but in 2019 Greene said he’s done with the battle royale genre.

Meanwhile, Krafton is continuing the development of PUBG and a sequel set in the near future called PUBG: New State. Other Krafton studios include Striking Distance Studios, which is working on the horror game The Callisto Protocol from Dead Space creator Glen Schofield, as well as a PUBG animated series from producer Adi Shankar.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Brendan Greene, aka PlayerUnknown and the creator of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, has announced the formation of a new independent game studio in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Greene was originally a modder whose experiments with the battle royale genre eventually led to the creation of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. He was later hired by Bluehole to continue developing the game under the newly formed PUBG Studios.

Following the success of PUBG, Bluehole renamed itself Krafton and in 2019 Greene announced he was stepping away from PUBG to work on experimental projects with a small team in Amsterdam.

However, Greene is now leaving the company altogether to form his own independent studio, though Krafton will hold a minority stake in Greene’s new company.

“I’m so very grateful to everyone at PUBG and Krafton for taking a chance on me and for the opportunities they afforded me over the past four years,” Greene says in a statement. “Today, I’m excited to take the next step on my journey to create the kind of experience I’ve envisaged for years.”

Greene’s new studio hasn’t revealed its name or what it’s working on, but in 2019 Greene said he’s done with the battle royale genre.

Meanwhile, Krafton is continuing the development of PUBG and a sequel set in the near future called PUBG: New State. Other Krafton studios include Striking Distance Studios, which is working on the horror game The Callisto Protocol from Dead Space creator Glen Schofield, as well as a PUBG animated series from producer Adi Shankar.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

If you watched, like the rest of the world, a massive cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal for nearly a week and thought, `I could've done better," then Whatever on Steam is the game for you.

That's because it's a cargo ship drifting game that actually lets you steer a ship through a canal, not unlike the actual Suez Canal. It was created by someone curious about how hard such a task might actually be.

Spoilers: It's apparently not easy.

"WHATEVER is my attempt to answer that question and fulfill my curiosity," developer Napas Torteeka writes on the game's Steam page. "You will cry and finally realize how amazing every cargo ship's captain is because it is extremely hard to pilot that !$@%!$# 200,000-tonne cargo ship with their extreme inertia through the canal."

The game's title is Whatever, which is also the title of the player-controlled cargo ship in the game. It's a nod to the Ever Given cargo ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal for six days earlier this year.

Axios spoke to developer Torteeka about the game and how it came to be, and it turns out, it's the first game Torteeka has developed in 15 years.

"I just wondered: How could that be possible?" Torteeka said to Axios. "What were the captain and the crew doing to get it stuck that way? When I first played my prototype, I knew how amazing every cargo ship captain is."

Whatever seems like a simple game — drift through waterways while collecting coins and safely deliver the ship's cargo — but if it's anything like last year's Suez Canal ordeal, something simple and mundane might turn into a seemingly insurmountable task.

If drifting through the Suez Canal sounds easy, Whatever also tosses wind gusts, whirlpools, kaiju, UFOs, and more at you. Whatever's current release date is listed on Steam as "Once the ship is ready" (nice), but Torteeka tells Axios that an early access version is coming in late September.

Whatever is certainly drawing on real-world news on purpose and thanks to it, players will get the chance to drift through its canals soon. The Suez incident didn't just help inspire games, but delay them too like how the Analogue Pocket Gameboy-like device was delayed as a result of the boat stuck in the Suez Canal.

Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.