Light No Fire is a new fantasy experience from Hello Games, the studio responsible for No Man's Sky. Where that title sought to let you explore the infinite weirdness of the universe, Light No Fire wants to let you in on something more intimate – albeit no less expansive or ambitious. A procedurally-generated multiplayer Earth – a true open world, built at scale to our own planet. A world that's full of fantastical color and strange creatures, a boundary-less space that is yet to be discovered – that you can leave a mark on, impacting any others who may stumble across your finds in the future.
That's what Light No Fire is hoping to deliver. It draws from survival-crafting and RPG experiences as a baseline, routing these ideas through the concept of joining with friends to explore and settle an entire planet. It's incredibly ambitious, but given the place No Man's Sky has occupied for the past few years, I think it's safe to say that this is well worth watching. Light No Fire was announced at The Game Awards 2023, and here's everything we know about it so far.
Light No Fire release date
Hello Games is yet to set a firm Light No Fire release date, although there is a chance that it could launch sooner than expected. The title has already been in active development for around five years, from a small incubation team working outside of the ongoing evolution of No Man's Sky. Hello Games has indicated that it isn't interested in repeating the lengthy marketing campaign it undertook with its space-sim, which existed in the public sphere for about three years from announcement through to release. Whether Light No Fire will release in 2024 remains to be seen, but don't expect this to be something that's teased for years to come.
Light No Fire platforms
The Light No Fire platforms remain unconfirmed, although a Steam page for the upcoming co-op game is already live. A PC release seems certain then, as for whether it'll launch simultaneously on PS5 and Xbox Series X is still up in the air. No Man's Sky originally launched on PC and PS4, later arriving on Xbox One two years later – and it has maintained parity with updates and expansions ever since. Expect more details on where Light No Fire will be playable in the future.
Light No Fire setting
Where No Man's Sky procedurally-generated an entire universe, Light No Fire is generating a single planet to scale in a fantasy environment. Hello Games is trying to create a multiplayer earth, a space that's large enough to conceivably accommodate the 7.8 billion people that currently inhabit our planet. The oceans on this literal open world are as dark and deep as our own, its mountains taller and more imposing, and the traversable space just as wide and varied. You've played in open worlds before, but nothing quite like this – literally hundreds of millions of square miles of space that you'll be able to explore, discover, and build upon with your friends.
Light No Fire story
Hello Games says that it wants to "bring the depth of a role-playing game to the freedom of a survival sandbox" with Light No Fire. While the focus of the reveal centers on the scope of the generated planet, the final game will have some tentpoles of the RPG – from character creation through to a sprawling fantasy story. You'll be able to create a custom avatar in a range of species, including human, rabbit, fox, badger, bear, wolf and otter, and should expect to encounter small outposts full of characters to meet (just like in No Man's Sky) who will hand out quests.
Light No Fire multiplayer
One of the tentpoles of Light No Fire is this idea of introducing you to a multiplayer Earth – a space where you'll be able to "meet players from across the globe, build a life, explore and survive together," says Hello Games in a press release. You'll be able to team up with friends, or encounter other players out in the wilderness – although the studio has indicated that, much like No Man's Sky, you can play alone if you want to. Another key aspect of Light No Fire is the ability to "construct persistent buildings and communities", which means anything you build will be discoverable by other players, and that you never know what you might find while you're out exploring.
Light No Fire procedural generation
Following 10 years worth of work on No Man's Sky, Hello Games has no intention of walking away from procedural generation. But where NMS' fantasy was to create an infinite procedurally-generated universe, Light No Fire is employing similar technology to generate what the studio says is "a truly open world, with no boundaries at a scale never attempted before." The idea is to create a planet the size of Earth – at scale. Something that's as dense and as varied as our own world, with just as much unknowable, explorable space for you to go and discover with your friends. It's because of the sheer size of this open world that Hello Games is procedurally generating just a single instance of this planet, one which every player (and everything the build, discover, and name) will exist on simultaneously.
Light No Fire gameplay
What if you and your friends spent a few evenings scaling a mysterious, uncharted mountain that was miles high? Reaching the summit names it after the player who discovered it, something to revel in as some of your party begin constructing watchtowers and others gaze out at miles of open sky in every direction – below, endless vistas, oceans, and continents that may yet to have been found. Where you choose to go next, and how you want to try and get there, is completely up to you. There's a whole world out there to be explored.
That's the Light No Fire gameplay fantasy. Built atop of this exploration, survival, and crafting are more traditional concepts. Light No Fire will feature a story and combat – you'll see player-characters wielding swords and shields, bows, and staffs in the debut trailer. You'll also be able to fly wild beasts over fantastical landscapes, plunge into the darkest depths of the deepest seas, and write your own adventures as you come together with other travelers to leave your mark on a planet as dense and wide as our own.
