Light No Fire: Everything we know so far | GamesRadar+

A fantasy game from the creators of No Man's Sky, where you adventure, build, survive and explore a true open world together

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Light No Fire is going to be one of the biggest games ever made. And I don't just mean that from an anticipation perspective, because this new title from Hello Games is looking to render an entire planet to scale. I know, it doesn't sounds possible – but if the meticulous expansion of No Man's Sky has taught us anything it's that you should never underestimate Hello Games.

Light No Fire is an adventure set across one procedurally-generated multiplayer Earth, a true open world where all players work to explore the space together. It's wildly ambitious, built to capture the sort of fantasy adventures that helped propel The Lord of the Rings into legend. So what you'll want to do is keep on reading to find everything you need to know about Light No Fire, just don't be surprised if your mind starts to unravel with all of the possibilities. After getting through it myself, I'm really hoping that it's one of the new games for 2025.

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 as a new games of 2025 remains to be seen, but don't expect it to be something that's teased for years.

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.

You can watch the first trailer for Light No Fire above. This was captured in-engine, from real play sessions hosted by the Hello Games development team. It's only two-minutes long, but works to quickly give you a sense of the scope of this massive procedurally-generated, persistently-shared planet. It's a really effective teaser, and one of the best reveals from 2023's Game Awards.

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.

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.

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

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.

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 is the No Man's Sky devs blurring the lines between Valheim, Death Stranding, and the open adventure of Lord of the Rings

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.

Josh West is the Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar+. He has over 15 years experience in online and print journalism, and holds a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Prior to starting his current position, Josh has served as GR+'s Features Editor and Deputy Editor of games™ magazine, and has freelanced for numerous publications including 3D Artist, Edge magazine, iCreate, Metal Hammer, Play, Retro Gamer, and SFX. Additionally, he has appeared on the BBC and ITV to provide expert comment, written for Scholastic books, edited a book for Hachette, and worked as the Assistant Producer of the Future Games Show. In his spare time, Josh likes to play bass guitar and video games. Years ago, he was in a few movies and TV shows that you've definitely seen but will never be able to spot him in.

Infinity Nikki is a stunning open-world game that somehow fits in almost everything I've ever wanted, and I already can't wait to play more

Elden Ring fan spends 500 hours making a low-poly version of FromSoftware's biggest map ever because "I thought it would be cool" – and it definitely is

The 25 best movies on Netflix right now