No Man's Sky has launched a free update that explores a slightly different kind of black void. The Abyss is available now, and adds more detail to underwater environments and some heavily reworked gameplay elements for exploring the briny depths of a planet.
A post on the PlayStation Blog detailed the update, titled The Abyss. It introduces five times more variety for aquatic environments and more variety of creature behaviors. Underwater creatures appear more frequently, and more unique and scary underwater creatures have been added. You can also explore sunken wrecks to scavenge their cargo, customize a new submarine called the Nautilon, and build an underwater base of operations with more than a dozen new base parts
For a more narrative experience, you can play a new story scenario called The Dreams of the Deep. In it, you'll uncover the mysteries of a stranded crew or someone lost in the depths of the ocean.
This is part of the continuing ongoing content following No Man's Sky Next, the big title update that served as a sort of second launch for the once-beleaguered game. That update itself added all sorts of new space oddities and quality-of-life improvements. The 1.58 update also added weekly content updates for long-term play.
The Abyss update specifically mentions that this is part of Hello Games' plan for ongoing large title updates to complement the ongoing smaller-scale reworks. This one is focused on the oceans of waterlogged planets, but it seems the studio has more large updates in the works as well.