We knew the much-hyped, open-world space exploration game No Man's Sky would be coming In June, and now we finally have a date: June 21st. Hello Games and Sony have announced the release date, with Hello Games planning to release the PC version simultaneously alongside its PlayStation 4 counterpart.

We've been fascinated by the prospect of No Man's Sky since it first came to the world's attention at the end of 2013. The game's concept is both staggeringly complex and incredibly simple: players are dropped inside a procedurally-generated universe of 18 quintillion different worlds, each with their own unique characteristics, life forms, and ecosystems. The goal, as it is, is to simply explore — discover new planets, creatures, and landscapes — and eventually find your way to the center of the massive universe.

The grand scope and ambition of the game would be a challenge for a team of any size, but the fact that it's coming from a relatively tiny indie developer like Hello Games is nothing short of extraordinary. It's also the kind of game that is practically impossible to comprehend or appreciate from any kind of limited preview, but we've been impressed every step of the way. From our most recent time spent with the game we're convinced more than ever that No Man's Sky is going to be something very special.