'What if you could own a space station?' asks No Man's Sky's Sean Mur…

Somehow, it's been 10 years since No Man's Sky launched on Steam, an infamously inauspicious occasion that over the space of that decade evolved from a cautionary tale about the excesses of hype to one of the best and most enduring exploration adventures you can play. And it's not done yet: Hello Games has now released No Man's Sky's 7.0 update, Cosmos , and it's another big one.

Cosmos, as the name implies, is all about space. You might think that'd already be pretty well covered in a game like No Man's Sky, but Hello Games aims to make that great big void "feel truly alive" with this update, and "more like home." truewildgame.com

The headline addition in Cosmos is probably the ability to own a space station, which the studio said has been the most-requested feature since No Man's Sky launched in 2016. With Cosmos, players will be able to stake their claim to their own deep space digs, build and decorate it both internally and externally, and even invite their interstellar pals over for a visit. Given the popularity of player housing in MMOs, I reckon this will be a big hit—especially since players can also now formalize those cosmic friendships through alliances with other players.

There's quite a bit more than just that, though. A new Star Map will reveal new points of interest leading to new missions and exploration opportunities, massive new "space hulks" can be salvaged and stripped for resources using the handy new gravity gun that was added earlier this year, new outposts will provide opportunities for trade, conversation, and potential danger due to biological hazards, you'll be able to build free-floating orbital bases literally anywhere amongst the stars, and speaking of stars you'll finally be able to embark upon "a perilous journey" to reach the great glowing orb at the center of your star system.

"It's real endgame stuff, but it feels important," Hello Games co-founder Sean Murray said of the Cosmos update.

"All of this is tech we get to test now, refine, and hopefully players will also experience it on our other game, Light No Fire."

The Cosmos update is live today, alongside a new expedition called "Our Journey Continues," which recaps each of the 40 major updates to No Man's Sky since its release. "It is like a museum of each update, unlocking the features of each update as we added them, along with a spacelog of interesting facts and developers commentary for each update," Hello Games explained. "It’s been a real joy to revisit some of those moments for us."

The full patch notes for No Man's Sky's Cosmos update are posted at nomanssky.com.