No Man's Sky PS4 PlayStation 4 1

The wait has been longer than an intergalactic tour of the universe, but No Man's Sky is finally finished on the PlayStation 4. Hello Games founder Sean Murray – who's sprouted a rather feral beard during the gruelling development cycle – confirmed the news on Twitter earlier this evening, with a photograph of the Guildford-based team celebrating with the final gold master.

We posted our first article about No Man's Sky on 8th December 2013, when the title was put under the spotlight at the VGX Awards. In the two and a half years since, we've written over 40 further articles about the space-faring foray, detailing a flood which threatened to decimate the developer – and the game's subsequent resurgence at E3 2014. It went on to win our Game of the Show that year.

Now the title's finally on track for its early August release, and the word on the street is that pre-orders are tracking well ahead of expectations. The final question that remains unanswered is whether the interstellar voyage can possibly live up to the hype that it's amassed. It's going to be a big ask, but wouldn't it be wonderful if this teensy British team met the colossal expectations that its set for itself?

[source twitter.com]