No Man's Sky made free on Nintendo Switch for a limited-time

No Man’s Sky is currently in the midst of celebrating its 10th anniversary.

It’s incredible to think that it was in 2016 that Hello Games’ sci-fi survival title first arrived on PlayStation 4 and PC with Nintendo and Xbox ports arriiving further down the line.

In celebration of this monumental milestone, No Man’s Sky is attempting to lure in new players as the team at Hello Games shows no signs of slowing in terms of new content for the game.

As such, a free play period is being held for a limited time on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 consoles.

The Game Trial runs from now until August 26 so you have just over one week to get involved.

There don’t seem to be any limitations on the trial in terms of how far you can progress which is wonderful to see.

Best of all, all of your progress will carry over should you decide to purchase No Man’s Sky which commands a RRP of £39.99 / $59.99.

If you’re not familiar with Game Trials on Nintendo Switch, they do require a Nintendo Switch Online membership which is the only negative caveat here.

If you do choose to trial No Man’s Sky on Nintendo Switch 2, you can benefit from the game’s free Switch 2 upgrade.

Fans seem pretty happy about the offering.

“Perfect timing. Want to see what this is like on Switch 2,” read one response on Twitter/X, while another added, “Oh cool, I was gonna get Switch Online for The Duskbloods anyways so nice.”

READ MORE: No Man’s Sky’s Sean Murray Has Big Plans For The Game’s Future

A free update titled Cosmos is on the way for No Man’s Sky

These free periods will likely act as a precursor to No Man’s Sky’s upcoming 10th anniversary update which we know is titled ‘Cosmos’.

In a message issued to the media, No Man’s Sky creator Sean Murray said, “Voyagers released last year saw more players than we’ve had since launch… and still, all these years later players have explored less than 1% of the planets in No Man’s Sky.”

He continued, “In a similar way our small team feels we have a lot left to explore in what No Man’s Sky can be. In the background we are busy cooking on our next game Light No Fire, and big things for the future of No Man’s Sky, with the tease of our upcoming update titled Cosmos. More will follow!”

No Man's Sky 10th Anniversary

It’s perhaps not a stretch to suggest that Cosmos may be revealed in full at next week’s Gamescom Opening Night Live, due to be held on August 25.

No Man’s Sky has certainly had announcements take place at The Game Awards before, so Hello Games could have partnered with Geoff Keighley again.

If you don’t yet have Nintendo Switch Online to nab this Game Trial, the base version of the service will work just fine, setting you back £17.99 / $19.99 per year.

Alternatively, you can nab a one month membership for £3.49 / $3.99 or three months for £6.99 / $7.99.