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Yes, friends can meet and group during a No Man’s Sky Expedition across supported platforms, but they do not share one universal progress checklist. Each player completes milestones on their own save while travelling the same expedition route, including its phases and rendezvous locations. Cross-play is the feature that lets you join another player; cross-save is separate and moves your own saved game between linked devices.
Rewards, inventory and saves also follow different rules. Major expedition rewards can be redeemed on other saves through the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion, while the Omega expedition terminal handles selected equipment and loot between an expedition and its primary save. Hello Games Cloud transfers an entire selected save between connected platforms. Treating those three processes as interchangeable is the source of most confusion.
The three systems at a glance
| System | What it does | What it does not do | Official details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiplayer | Places players together so they can travel, build and undertake activities in the same session. | It does not automatically complete your milestones when another player completes theirs. | Expedition sessions use their own matchmaking and base-sharing pool. |
| Cross-play | Lets supported-platform players create or join cross-platform groups and encounter one another. | It does not move a saved game or copy a friend’s expedition progress to your account. | Groups can be created in-game or from the front end; No Man’s Sky Friends use a unique code. |
| Cross-save | Uploads a selected save to Hello Games Cloud and lets you download it on another linked platform. | It does not merge two players’ saves or grant another player’s milestones. | The current FAQ allows up to five saves in cross-platform cloud storage. |
For the expedition’s structure and rendezvous design, see the official Expeditions update. The definitions of cross-platform groups come from Hello Games’ cross-play announcement.
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They can travel together when both players are in compatible expedition sessions and have joined the same group. Cross-play allows the group to span supported platforms, while the expedition supplies a shared route, phases and rendezvous objectives. The journey is shared socially, not as one jointly owned checklist.
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What you can do together
- Join the same multiplayer group and travel to expedition objectives.
- Meet at rendezvous locations and encounter other travellers along the route.
- See ambient cross-platform players in the Space Anomaly, in space and on planets.
- Build and interact within the expedition’s matchmaking and base-sharing environment.
What remains individual
Every player has an independent expedition state. If your friend completes a milestone, your own milestone is not promised to complete automatically. You should check your milestone list and claim each reward on your own character. Seeing another traveller is also not proof that the player has joined your group: ambient encounters and an intentional cross-platform party are different things.
How do I add a cross-platform friend and join an Expedition?
Use the game’s network tools to establish the group first, then make sure both players enter expedition sessions rather than assuming an ordinary-mode session will share the same pool.
- Open the multiplayer or network controls from the front end or while in a game.
- Create a group or choose the option to join one. Hello Games’ cross-play system also lets you add a No Man’s Sky Friend with that player’s unique code.
- Manage those contacts in Network Options if the friend is not already listed.
- Have both players launch or enter the same relevant Expedition. If one person remains in a normal, survival or another mode, the expedition matchmaking and base-sharing rules may keep the sessions separate.
- Once grouped, use the in-game player list and rendezvous markers to confirm that you are in the same session.
Hello Games states in its Waypoint matchmaking rules that “Expedition and Permadeath games will remain in their own pool for the purposes of matchmaking and base sharing.” Read the full wording in the Waypoint update. This is why a friend can appear in the wider universe yet not be available in the expedition group you expected.
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No. The expedition gives players a common route, but milestone completion is tracked per player and per save. Playing beside a friend can make navigation, combat and rendezvous travel easier, yet each person must satisfy and claim their own milestones.
A practical way to divide tasks
- Before leaving a rendezvous, compare which milestone each player still needs.
- Perform the required action while both players are present if cooperation helps, but verify the completion notification on each screen.
- Collect milestone rewards individually instead of assuming the group leader’s claim applies to everyone.
- Keep a note of the expedition phase and your own outstanding objectives when reconnecting later.
Cross-platform visibility is therefore not the same as shared progression. A traveller you meet may be on the same route while having a different phase, inventory and milestone history.
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How can I start an Expedition from a new game or an existing save?
You have two entry routes. A new game can start an Expedition in its own save, while the Omega overhaul added an existing-save route through the Space Anomaly’s expedition terminal.
Starting a separate expedition save
Choose the Expedition option when creating a new game. Under the original expedition rules, that separate save remains available after the event and becomes a Normal-mode save. This route keeps the expedition progression independent from an established primary save.
Starting from your primary save
- Load the primary save you want associated with the expedition.
- Travel to the Space Anomaly and use the expedition terminal.
- Choose the current available Expedition and prepare the cache of equipment or items the terminal permits.
- Enter the expedition. You can pause it and return to the primary save in that slot, then resume the expedition later through the same terminal.
The official Omega notes state: “Expeditions can now be started from an existing save, as well continuing to be accessible by starting a new game.” The complete notes are at Hello Games’ Omega update page. The terminal-based process is not a general promise that arbitrary inventories can move between every independent save.
How does cross-save move my Expedition between devices?
Hello Games Cloud transfers your selected saved game, not a friend’s milestones. Link the platform accounts through Hello Games Cloud, confirm which local save is being uploaded, and download that save from the other connected platform.
- Open the account-connection or cross-save controls and link the platforms you want to use.
- Launch the game on the platform containing the expedition. The current FAQ says the most recent save uploads automatically after launch when the platform is connected.
- To choose a different local save, use the save-selection screen and select the save showing an empty cloud icon.
- On the second platform, open Cross-Save Manager from save selection.
- Choose the cloud save and download it into that platform’s local storage.
- If the game reports a file-size or timestamp conflict, select which version to keep. Do not overwrite the newer version accidentally.
The live Hello Games Cloud cross-save FAQ says that up to five saves can be stored in cross-platform cloud storage. That is a storage limit, not a multiplayer player-count limit. If a linked save does not appear, check the cloud toggles on the account-connection page. Disconnecting all linked accounts deletes the server-side cloud data but leaves local platform saves untouched, so download or otherwise preserve a needed cloud save before disconnecting.
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What cross-save does not transfer
Cross-save does not merge your save with a friend’s, synchronize two independent characters or award milestones completed by another player. It simply lets you continue the selected save on another linked device, subject to that platform’s game availability and account connection.
How do expedition rewards and belongings return to another save?
There are two different mechanisms: reward entitlements and the Omega terminal’s item transfer. A reward entitlement can be redeemed on another save; an item transfer moves only the selected cache or equipment allowed by the expedition terminal.
Redeeming major expedition rewards
When you unlock a major expedition reward, visit the Space Anomaly and speak to the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion. The original expedition instructions direct players to redeem unlocked rewards there on other saves. This makes the reward available to eligible saves without copying the entire expedition character or inventory.
Sending equipment and loot through the Omega terminal
- Before entering an expedition from an existing save, place the permitted items and packaged equipment into the terminal’s expedition cache.
- During the run, retrieve that cache at the Space Anomaly.
- When the expedition is complete, use the terminal to select which allowed items and technologies return to the primary save.
The Omega patch notes separately describe automatic return of earned units, nanites and Quicksilver, plus sharing of discoveries and bases with the primary save. During an active expedition, the notes also allow copying a primary starship or Multi-Tool. These rules apply to the existing-save expedition workflow; they are not a universal inventory-transfer feature between unrelated saves.
What is different on Switch 1 and Switch 2?
The two Switch generations must be treated differently. Hello Games says the original Nintendo Switch lacks multiplayer, while Switch 2 adds multiplayer and cross-play alongside the Beacon update. Cross-save availability does not turn the original Switch into a multiplayer platform.
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| Capability | Original Switch | Switch 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Multiplayer | Not available according to Hello Games. | Supported. |
| Cross-play | Cannot be used to join friends through multiplayer when multiplayer itself is absent. | Supported with compatible platforms. |
| Cross-save | Discussed separately from multiplayer; a cloud-linked save does not add multiplayer. | Can be used where the account and game support the cloud workflow. |
| Online requirement | Not applicable to multiplayer because multiplayer is absent. | Nintendo Switch Online is required for multiplayer in the Switch 2 patch notes. |
Read the platform details in Hello Games’ Beacon announcement. Buying a Switch 2 by itself does not supply the game or the required online membership; verify that you own the correct edition and have the service needed for online play.
Why can’t I join my friend’s Expedition?
Most failures come from a mode mismatch, an account-link problem or a platform limitation rather than from the expedition objective itself.
- One player is not in an expedition: leave the ordinary-mode session and have both players enter the same expedition route.
- The friend is visible but cannot be joined: visibility may be an ambient encounter. Add the player with the No Man’s Sky Friend code and send or accept a group invitation.
- The game uses the original Switch: that console has no multiplayer, so it cannot join a cross-platform expedition group.
- The expedition or bases seem isolated: Waypoint keeps expedition and Permadeath matchmaking and base sharing in their own pool.
- The cross-save slot is missing: confirm that the platform accounts are linked and that cloud toggles are enabled on the connection page.
- Two versions of the save exist: compare timestamps and file sizes before choosing the cloud or local copy in the conflict prompt.
- A reward is absent on another save: visit the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion; reward redemption is separate from moving an inventory cache.
Are Expeditions always available?
No. Expeditions are time-limited events. The official material establishes the event-based structure, but no currently running Expedition or precise end date for October 30, 2026 is confirmed here, so do not rely on an old schedule or assume that a named event is still open.
When an event is active, its availability is presented through the game’s expedition entry point. If you start a standalone expedition save, the original rules keep that save available after the event and convert it to Normal mode; an expedition launched from an existing save remains managed through that save’s terminal workflow.
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What changed with recent updates?
Version context matters because multiplayer and cloud features have changed over time. The Omega overhaul was update 4.5 and introduced the existing-save expedition terminal. Hello Games opened Beacon’s cross-save system to the entire player base on June 4, 2025; a November 7, 2024 article described an earlier limited beta and should not be treated as the current availability rule.
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The release log lists Forsaken 7.10 and patch 7.11 at the top during the October 2026 information check. Forsaken announces an iOS experience, but the published description inspected here does not independently establish iOS expedition cross-play or Hello Games Cloud support. Check the current platform notes before assuming that an iOS copy can join or transfer an expedition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can I see another traveller but not join that player’s expedition?
The Space Anomaly, space and planets can show ambient cross-platform encounters without creating a party. Add the traveller as a No Man’s Sky Friend, invite them to a group, and have both players enter the same expedition session.
Does buying a Switch 2 automatically let me play Expeditions online?
No. You still need a compatible copy of No Man’s Sky, and Hello Games’ Switch 2 notes require Nintendo Switch Online for multiplayer. The console upgrade adds the capability but does not include the game or the online subscription.
Can I copy my entire expedition inventory to an unrelated save?
Not as a general feature. The Omega terminal transfers only the selected cache, equipment and technologies allowed by an expedition started from an existing save; major rewards use the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion instead.
What happens to my local save if I remove every linked cloud account?
Hello Games says disconnecting all linked accounts deletes the server-side cloud data while leaving local platform saves intact. Download or preserve any cloud copy you still need before disconnecting, because the cloud copy will no longer be available afterward.
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