I’ve spent over 300 hours exploring No Man’s Sky’s procedurally generated galaxies, and I still remember the first time I joined a friend’s co-op lobby ready to show off the S-class hauler I’d spent 2 hours hunting. I spent 10 whole minutes fumbling with controller buttons trying to type a message, only to accidentally open my inventory three times and let a space pirate steal half my tritium. That’s why I put together this guide to walk you through every part of how to chat in No Man’s Sky, so you don’t have to go through the same frustrating experience I did. We’ll cover controls for every platform, cross-platform fixes, customization options, and safety tips to make your multiplayer runs smooth and fun.
How to Chat in No Man's Sky: Basic Controls for All Platforms
No Man’s Sky supports three core chat types: text chat, voice chat, and quick preset chat, and the controls vary slightly depending on what device you’re playing on. We’ll break down the default controls first, but remember you can adjust all of these in the game’s Controls menu if the default setup doesn’t work for you. You don’t have to be in a formal co-op group to use chat either, even players in the same public system can send messages to each other if their settings allow it.
PC players can open text chat by default with the Enter key, and you can toggle push-to-talk for voice chat with the ` key (the tilde key next to 1 on most keyboards). If you’d rather use voice activation, you can switch that setting in the Audio tab of the options menu. PC players also have the advantage of full keyboard support for typing, which makes long messages way faster to send than on console.
PlayStation users access the chat menu by holding down the DualSense or DualShock touchpad, and you can toggle between text, voice, and quick chat with the shoulder buttons. If you have a USB keyboard plugged into your PlayStation, you can use it to type messages just like you would on PC, which is a huge quality of life upgrade if you play multiplayer often. Voice chat is enabled by default if your controller has a built-in mic, but you can mute yourself by tapping the microphone button on your DualSense.
Xbox players can open chat by holding the View button (the small button to the left of the Xbox home button), and Switch users can access the chat menu by holding the Minus button. Switch players do need to use the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app for voice chat, as the console doesn’t support native in-game voice for most titles. For all console players, quick chat is the fastest way to send short messages without typing, and you can pull up the preset menu by pressing up on the d-pad by default.
If you’re playing solo but still have online features enabled, you’ll still get chat notifications from players in nearby systems. If you don’t want to be disturbed, you can turn off all incoming chat in the Network settings tab, or limit it to only messages from friends you’ve added on your platform or Hello Games account.
Cross-Platform Chat Troubleshooting for No Man's Sky
One of the best parts of No Man’s Sky is that it supports full cross-play across all platforms, so you can team up with friends no matter what device they own. But cross-platform chat can run into glitches sometimes, especially if players haven’t set up their accounts correctly. Most issues are easy to fix without restarting your whole game, but you’ll want to rule out the most common causes first.
Cross-platform voice chat will only work if every player in the lobby has linked their platform account to a free Hello Games account. You can link your account through the game’s main menu, and it only takes a minute to set up. If even one person in the group hasn’t linked their account, voice chat will default to platform-only, so cross-platform players won’t be able to hear each other.
If you’re still having trouble with cross-platform chat, work through these quick fixes in order:
- Confirm all players have their platform privacy settings set to allow incoming messages and voice chat from either friends or all players, depending on who you’re playing with
- Check that no one in the lobby has muted text or voice chat in their No Man’s Sky audio or network settings
- Restart your router if chat cuts out mid-session, as lag or unstable internet connections often disrupt peer-to-peer chat connections
- Disable any VPN or proxy you’re running, as these can block No Man’s Sky’s chat servers and prevent messages from sending
One issue I run into pretty often when playing with Xbox friends is that their Xbox Party chat will override the in-game voice chat. If that happens, just have the group leave the Xbox Party and use the in-game voice chat instead, or use a third-party service like Discord if you’d rather stick to external chat. It’s not a bug, just a platform priority setting that’s easy to miss.
Custom Quick Chat Presets to Streamline Your Gameplay
Most new players don’t realize you can fully customize the quick chat presets in No Man’s Sky, and this feature is a game-changer for anyone who plays on console or spends a lot of time in high-stakes game modes like Survival or Permadeath. Typing out full messages takes time, and if you’re on a toxic planet or being attacked by predators, stopping to type can get you killed pretty fast.
Custom quick chat presets cut down on typing time drastically, especially if you play on console without a keyboard attachment. You can edit your presets by going to the Chat tab in the options menu, and you can set up to 16 different custom messages mapped to different d-pad combinations. I’ve been using custom presets for years, and I can send a message asking for ferrite dust or alerting my group to a nearby S-class multitool in less than a second.
The default presets are pretty generic, so you’ll want to adjust them to match your playstyle. If you do a lot of base building, add presets for asking for specific building materials or asking other players not to touch your storage containers. If you run a lot of pirate hunts or expedition missions, add presets for calling for backup or alerting your group to rare loot. You can even add preset coordinates if you regularly return to specific farming spots or base locations.
Quick chat works even if you don’t have voice chat enabled, so it’s a great way to communicate with players who don’t want to use voice, or if you’re playing in a public space where you can’t turn on your mic. I’ve traded dozens of rare ships and resources with random players just using quick chat, and it’s way more accessible than typing for most casual players.
Public Lobby Chat Etiquette and Safety Rules
The No Man’s Sky community is generally one of the friendliest gaming communities I’ve ever been part of, but there are still a few unwritten rules for chat in public lobbies, plus some safety tips to keep in mind when talking to strangers. Following these rules will make your experience way more positive, and you’ll avoid annoying other players who are just trying to explore peacefully.
First, don’t spam chat with coordinates or trade requests over and over. Most players will check chat periodically, but spamming the same message every 10 seconds will just get you muted. If you’re offering a rare resource or a good ship coordinate, send the message once and wait for people to respond, don’t flood the chat feed.
If you join a public lobby where other players are building bases or running missions, ask before you take resources from their storage or modify their builds. Most players are happy to share, but some people spend dozens of hours on their bases, and it’s rude to modify or take things without asking. A quick quick chat message asking if it’s okay to take some condensed carbon goes a long way.
You can mute or report toxic players directly through the in-game multiplayer menu if you run into someone who’s being rude, spamming, or harassing other players. Just select their name from the player list and hit the mute or report button, and you won’t see any of their messages again. You can also block players on your platform if you want to avoid running into them in future lobbies.
Never share personal information like your real name, location, or social media accounts in public chat, even if you feel like you know the other player. Most people are friendly, but it’s always better to err on the side of caution when talking to strangers online. If you want to stay in touch with a player you met in a lobby, add them as a friend on your platform or Hello Games account instead of sharing personal details.
Once you get the hang of how to chat in No Man's Sky, you’ll find the game’s community is one of its best features. Whether you’re trading rare resources with random players, teaming up to take down a pirate fleet, or just showing off your latest base build, chat makes every playthrough feel more connected. If you run into any issues we didn’t cover here, drop a comment below and we’ll help you sort it out. Happy exploring!
