In the spirit of holiday nostalgia, No Man's Sky is rerunning all four of their expeditions.

It's a great idea.

Special events in games, typically rewarding players with cosmetic items which can't otherwise be acquired, can be fun and also an effective way to tempt players to return.

But they can also be the proverbial double edged sword.

Miss out for any reason, eg. if you only start playing the game after those events start, and those limited time rewards are forever inaccessible content.

That can be a handicap for attracting and retaining new players.

The Expeditions rerun schedule is as follows:

• Expedition 1 (Pioneers): November 24 - December 7
• Expedition 2 (Beachhead/Normandy): December 8 - December 21
• Expedition 3 (Cartographers): December 22 - January 4
• Expedition 4 (Emergence): January 5 - January 19

To account for their shorter durations the requirements to complete each expedition have been adjusted.

You might have noticed one expedition with a double-barrelled name. That wasn't and isn't the expedition's name. Hello Games have singled that one's reward out for special notice.

Their giant sandworm-themed Emergence expedition was astutely timed to coincide with the release of Dune and this might be another example.

Beachhead rewarded players with a ship from Mass Effect, the Normandy, as part of a promotional event for the launch of the Legendary Edition of that series.

Amazon recently revealed plans for a live-action TV series adaptation of Mass Effect so there's a bit of buzz surrounding that title right now.

Also all those players who might have only joined No Man's Sky during the giant sandworm event for its Dune value have an immediate opportunity to catch up. That expedition finished just a few days before this rerun began.

For the benefit of non-players who might be cringing at the notion of mixing different franchises, the premise of No Man's Sky is that it's set in a massive 255 galaxy simulation.

It being a simulation its integrity isn't diminished by crossovers.

For the sake of clarity - the Normandy ship was part of an official crossover. Giant sandworms were not.

Dune is known for them but they're not unique to that property and No Man's Sky did their own thing with them, including, eg. allowing players to ride flying ones.

References

Hello Games (November 24). Expeditions Revisited. No Man's Sky.

HelloGamesTube (May 21, 2021). No Man's Sky x Mass Effect - Normandy Trailer. YouTube.