'No Man's Sky' Release Date And Details On The Game's 18 Quintillion Planets And Aliens

"No Man's Sky" was already one of the most highly anticipated games of 2016, and Thursday's preorder figures only solidified that status. The open universe game will be released June 21 for the PS4 and PC with a price of $60, Hello Games announced Thursday.

The ability of "No Man's Sky" to uniquely generate 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 planets is the game's selling point, but there were some concerns about what players could do in this practically infinite universe. If the game solely focused on exploring planets, it could get boring after the first million or so. With the addition of aliens with rich histories and a trading system based on resources, "No Man's Sky" has a story that could be as large as its universe.

"We’ve always talked about having factions in the game. It’s something we’ve always wanted," "No Man's Sky" creator Sean Murray told the PlayStation Blog. "We had ideas on how we wanted that to fit in 'No Man’s Sky,' but it’s taken us a while to get to the point where we’re happy enough to show it."

The biggest news from the "No Man's Sky" are the distinct alien races that populate different planets. Every race has its own language, history and stories that can be revealed once a player learns its language. Each language could take hours to master as players will have to explore the universe to develop their communication skills. Mastering a language could lead to the formation of an alliance or a better trade partnership. Trying to blindly interact with these aliens could lead to consequences such as paying more for an item or, even, war.

Players can explore each of the planets in order to gain resources that can be used in trade or to upgrade one's items, spaceship or suit.

A full retail release of "No Man's Sky" wouldn't be complete without special editions. The limited edition includes the game, art book, comic, a starter pack with in-game items and a dynamic PS4 theme. There's also an "Explorer's Edition" by iam8bit for the PC version of the game. The edition costs $149.99 and includes the PC game code, a replica spaceship, Traveler pin, a display backdrop and a secret item revealed in June. The "Explorer's Edition" is limited to 10,000 units.