'Astroneer' is getting a surprise expansion 8 years after launch (video)

As engrossing and lively as No Man's Sky continues to be, many players yearn for space exploration games which are lighter space adventures. Astroneer, which has been around for nearly eight years now, has flown under many people's radars, yet it's a fantastic space-themed sandbox survival game you ought to check out whether you're a solo or co-op gamer.

Astroneer has become a perfect example of an indie game with clear objectives and an even clearer understanding of how to reach them. Of course, System Era Softworks' collective experience has helped it reach its goals with relative ease, but it's also the kind of long-term video game project that's slowly evolved over the years and while closely listening to community feedback. After its early access period (which ended in 2019), it gradually made the jump to consoles. Now, it's time to make it bigger in a way that goes beyond what past updates have offered so far. This is where the huge DLC Astroneer: Glitchwalkers comes in.

Glitchwalkers has yet to reveal its tentative release date (though we know it's coming this year) and pricing across PC and consoles, but its first trailer is here to show off new environments and threats. Watch it below:

According to System Era Softworks' press release, the new planet, Aeoluz, is the game's biggest and most complex to date, and that translates into hidden mysteries alongside never-before-seen menaces. It's a new uncharted world that must be tamed (if that's even possible). More importantly, Glitchwalkers will introduce a very unexpected villain: "A rogue Astroneer has wormed into the system and taken control, threatening against any interlopers who may interfere with this unprecedented power grab."

Alongside the enigmatic location and surprising narrative, Glitchwalkers includes a brand-new tech tree, modules, and gameplay opportunities unique to the expansion-sized DLC. That said, newcomers and those staying base-game-only for now will also enjoy a number of refreshing improvements and content additions via free updates that will be announced at a later date. Long story short: Astroneer isn't going silent anytime soon. Quite the opposite!

Astroneer can be purchased for PC (Windows), PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and Nintendo Switch. It's also currently available via Xbox Game Pass (though the Glitchwalker DLC is not included once it releases).