'No Man's Sky' release date for PS4 and PC platforms: What gamers need to know

 [Photo credit: No Man's Sky website]

"No Man's Sky," the upcoming adventure video game currently being developed by Hello Games, is one of the most anticipated titles for the PlayStation 4 in 2015, but PC gamers can also rejoice as the title will also be rolling out for the Microsoft Windows platform after being a timed exclusive title for the PS4. However, no word has been given on whether or not the title will be released for the Xbox One. 

"No Man's Sky" is expected to feature a procedurally generated open universe, which means that the environment surrounding the players will be completely free to explore. The free-to-explore environment will allow players to upgrade their character and starship after completing a set of missions within the environment's proximity. 

The game will offer online features that will allow gamers to share details with other players about the planets they have visited. Access to each of these planets can be executed through a galactic map, and travelling to planets can only be done after the player has progressed far enough in order to upgrade their starship for hyperdrive capabilities.

In August 2014, it was announced that the game will also offer offline gameplay.

Hello Games is comprised of four individuals who are currently developing the game. Sean Murray, the co-founder, stated that the primary inspiration for the game were Isaac Asimov, an American author and professor of biochemistry, and Arthur C. Clarke, a British science fiction writer. The aforementioned names were also used to make up the primary protagonist's name, Isaac Clarke, in the horror game series, "Dead Space." 

According to Murray, as quoted by GameSpot in an article last December, "We wanted to make a game about exploration and we wanted to make a game that was real."

The co-founder said that planets will possess their own ecology and ecosystems.

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