Xeno Arena exposes the challenge: updates take 2-3x longer on Steam Deck and Switch

No Man's Sky explains why the Xeno Arena update takes longer on Steam Deck and Switch due to memory limitations.

Xeno Arena arrives for free with the 6.3 update

No Man's Sky introduces the Xeno Arena mode, an experience where alien creatures can be captured, raised, trained, and pitted against each other in battles within a dedicated arena. The 6.3 update was released on April 8 and is available for all platforms.

Why updates take longer on handhelds

According to Martin Griffiths, an engineer at Hello Games, adapting complex updates for devices like the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck requires a disproportionate amount of engineering time. The goal is to keep new features stable and functional across all platforms, not just on PC or consoles.

Griffiths points out that it takes, on average, 2–3x more time in development to make new features compatible with handheld devices, especially when dealing with memory limits.

Memory and hardware: the porting challenge

The Steam Deck features 16GB of unified memory, while the original Nintendo Switch offers 4GB of RAM. The Switch 2 increases this to 12GB, but only 9GB remains available for games, with the remaining 3GB reserved for the operating system. In comparison, a typical PC, according to Steam data, usually has 16GB of RAM and 8GB of VRAM.

Switch 2, performance improvements and fixes

Update notes associated with 6.3 highlight rendering improvements of up to 15% on the Switch 2, as well as fixes for several crashes related to Nintendo platforms.

Looking to the future

With No Man’s Sky celebrating almost a decade, the continuous updates continue to exemplify free content created by Hello Games, keeping the game relevant to the player community.

Have you played Xeno Arena on your device? Tell us in the comments: what kind of performance challenges have you noticed while playing on the Steam Deck or Switch?

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