The honest answer to ps5 gameplay has changed at least once, which is why old threads disagree.

Short answer

The feature is there on the platforms with an active build, and absent on the ones left on an older version.

  • Check the store page's supported-platforms box, not the trailer.
  • Look for a cross-progression toggle in account settings before starting fresh.
  • Check the version you are actually running before assuming anything is broken.

No Man's Sky has been rewritten by updates so many times that old guides describe a different game. Cross-progression carries your account; crossplay only puts you in the same lobby. Some features are disabled per-platform for reasons that have nothing to do with performance.

Which versions exist right now

There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you. A cut-down port is still a port, and the difference usually shows up in player counts rather than frame rates. Store pages list supported platforms accurately; trailers do not. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later.

Handheld versions often trail the main build by a full season. Cloud streaming sidesteps the hardware question and introduces a latency one instead. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work.

Crossplay versus cross-progression

Console certification adds weeks to every patch, which is why fixes land unevenly. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over.

  • Verify controller support separately from platform support.
  • Check whether the version on sale is the current-gen one.
  • Stop and reassess after two failed attempts rather than repeating the third.
  • Assume mobile versions are a different game with the same name.
  • Confirm whether your friends are on the same build, not just the same game.

How to check before you buy

No Man's Sky is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. Everything below is framed around the current state of No Man's Sky rather than a launch-week impression.

The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on.

What you lose on the smaller platforms

Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters.

Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional.

Streaming as a fallback

If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time.

Where people go wrong

  • Skipping the prerequisite because it looked optional in someone else's summary.
  • Assuming a guide from an older season still describes the current version.
  • Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.

No Man's Sky FAQ

Do I need any mods or third-party tools for this?

No. Everything described here works with the base game on any supported platform.

Is the mobile version the same game?

Rarely. It usually shares the name and the art, and almost nothing else.

Why do other guides describe this differently?

Most were written for an earlier version and never revisited. Compare the steps against what your build actually shows.

What if none of this works for me?

Then something in your setup differs from the assumption — version, region or platform. Check those three before anything else.

Anything that shifts with the next No Man's Sky update will show up as a changed number, not a changed approach.