Can I play Xbox no man‘s sky on PC?

As a passionate No Man‘s Sky player since launch with experience across platforms, one question I see pop up often is:

"Can I play Xbox No Man‘s Sky on my gaming PC?"

The great news is yes, you absolutely can thanks to Xbox cloud gaming and Game Pass for PC! With the right subscriptions and services, you can enjoy full crossplay between Xbox and PC.

In this post, we‘ll dig into:

• Cloud streaming the Xbox version on PC
• Getting Game Pass for PC NMS
• Comparing versions and performance
• Transferring saves between platforms
• Optimizing your setup for best gameplay

Let‘s get started!

Stream Xbox No Man‘s Sky via the Cloud

Don‘t actually own NMS on Xbox? No worries! With Xbox Cloud Gaming, you can stream the Xbox One and Series X/S versions directly on a Windows 10 or 11 PC.

Here are the steps:

1. Sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate ($14.99/month)
2. Install the Xbox app on your PC
3. Launch cloud gaming and select No Man‘s Sky!

And that‘s all there is to it. The power of cloud compute delivers a solid 30fps No Man‘s Sky experience with Xbox-quality visuals fully playable on PC with an internet connection. Super handy way to demo the game!

Cloud Gaming Performance

Based on my testing across a range of hardware, here is how Xbox cloud streaming holds up:

Of course, faster internet will enable a better streaming experience. But I found even 10 Mbps surprisingly usable for casual play!

Install via Xbox Game Pass for PC

Prefer playing a natively installed version? Xbox Game Pass lets you download and play the Windows 10 PC edition of No Man‘s Sky.

The steps here:

1. Get Xbox Game Pass for PC ($9.99/month)
2. Install on Windows 10/11 PC
3. Download No Man‘s Sky!

This rents you the full PC version just like owning it on Steam or GoG. Identical visuals and performance to other PC editions based on your hardware.

One amazing bonus – you can even mod your Game Pass NMS install with things like graphics overhauls and quality of life tweaks!

PC System Requirements

Here are the official No Man‘s Sky gameplay minimums and recommended specs:

I‘ve tested on a wide mix of desktops and gaming laptops. Aim for at least a 4 GB GPU if you want 60fps gameplay at 1080p resolution. More VRAM helps a ton with visual quality when exploring planetary surfaces! An SSD is also strongly recommended for better load times.

Let‘s shift gears to…

Crossplay and Transferring Saves

A amazing feature Hello Games built into NMS is full crossplay multiplayer between ALL platforms. Play together in the same session with friends on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC thanks to the power of connectivity across Hello Games‘ procedural generation backend.

But what about transferring saves and progression between platforms?

The good news is with the help of fan tools like NomNom Save Editor, you CAN now transfer saves not only from PS4 to PS5, but PS4/Xbox to PC as well!

Here‘s a quick guide to uploading Xbox saves and bringing them down on PC:

1. Install NMS on Xbox Game Pass PC
2. Visit NomNom website and download save editing tools
3. Login and download cloud save from your Xbox account
4. Upload the .JSON file to NomNom to decrypt
5. Download decrypted PC file output from NomNom
6. Transfer save into PC NMS save folder

Boom! You‘ll now have your Xbox save loaded up directly on the Game Pass PC installations. Super handy way to continue exactly where you left off as you jump between platforms.

Mods, VR, and Hardware Performance

Beyond basic crossplay and and save transfers, you may be wondering:

• Can I mod Xbox NMS on PC?
• How does VR differ across platforms?
• Which performs better, Xbox or PC?

Let‘s tackle those one by one!

Modding Game Pass vs Xbox vs Steam

When it comes to mod support, the PC edition available on Windows 10 has the advantage over cloud streamed Xbox. Why? File access for assets!

Since you have native game file access when running PC installs from Windows Store, Game Pass PC, or Steam, dropping in mods like graphics overhauls is seamless.

But modding capabilities are much more limited while streaming Xbox gameplay from the cloud. Without direct access to game files, your options boil down to universal tweaks provided by Microsoft that apply to any cloud title.

So PC Game Pass or Steam definitely have more modding flexibility. But cloud streaming still lets you transform vanilla visuals through Microsoft Display Settings like increased brightness or contrast.

Virtual Reality Mode

VR support is also best on PC over Xbox when playing with a headset like the Valve Index or Oculus Quest.

Only the Windows PC edition has built-in virtual reality gameplay. And the latest Fractal update makes this better than ever with enhanced VR visuals, UI refinements, and smoother 90hz framerate support!

So while Xbox streaming is usable for traditional gameplay, you‘ll want to install natively on PC for VR action and motion control support.

Performance and Graphics

Last but not least – how does gameplay performance compare between cloud streamed Xbox vs PC Game Pass installs?

In my experience after many hours across both:

• Xbox streaming delivers surprisingly good 30fps framerate
• PC Game Pass edtion matches Steam performance when hardware is capable
• PC enables better draw distance, framerate, loading

Of course PC performance depends heavily on your hardware spec. But even modest laptops surpass streaming with increased smoothness and visual effects.

Installing PC Game Pass with capable CPU/GPU hardware delivers the definitive No Man‘s Sky experience. I use an RTX 3080 which crushes 1440p 60fps!

But convenience-wise, Xbox streaming is solid for on-the-go when no PC available. Latency very playable for more casual exploration gameplay thanks to Microsoft enhancements.

So in summary – PC over Xbox for mods, VR, and max performance. But cloud streaming works in a pinch!

Wrap Up

I hope this guide gives you clarity on playing Xbox No Man‘s Sky downloads and streams natively on PC hardware.

The key takeways:

• Xbox Cloud Gaming streams Xbox NMS on PC conveniently
• PC Game Pass provides full native PC install
• Save transfer possible from Xbox to PC
• PC edition outclasses streaming performance when capable hardware available

Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to chat No Man‘s Sky anytime. Feel free to connect with me on Twitter at [@NMS_Explorerfan] for more guides and updates!

Safe travels, Interlopers! May your journeys always be epic 🚀