Investigation Clears No Man's Sky of Misleading Players

The Sky's dodged its limits.

By Alysia Judge

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has officially dismissed claims that No Man's Sky misled players on its Steam Page and in its promotional materials.

In a statement published on the ASA website, the regulatory body stated that "no further action is required" in investigating accusations that Hello Games misrepresented the sprawling space simulator before its release to the public.

Referring directly to the materials that were available on the game's Steam page, the ASA wrote, "We understood that the screenshots and videos in the ad had been created using game footage, and acknowledged that in doing this the advertisers would aim to show the product in the best light.

"Taking into account the above points, we considered that the overall impression of the ad was consistent with gameplay and the footage provided, both in terms of that captured by Hello Games and by third parties, and that it did not exaggerate the expected player experience of the game. We therefore concluded that the ad did not breach the Code."

According to the regulatory body's report, 23 complainants contacted them with the belief that No Man's Sky's game content "was not as depicted or described" in the trailers and screenshots that were available on the Steam page.

However, the crux of the game's defence focuses on the fact that No Man's Sky is procedurally generated. Because each player's experience is determined by a random computer algorithm, the ASA ruled that the adverts would naturally show a different reality to the ones that players will encounter in the game.

Since the marketing emphasised this procedurally generated element, the ASA concluded that these No Man's Sky ads were marked as potential experiences that players could have, rather than a direct projection of environments and creatures found in the game.

"[Hello Games] did not exaggerate the expected player experience of the game," reads the report. "We therefore concluded that the ad did not breach the code."

The ruling can be read in full here, and provides explanation for other issues raised by disgruntled players - including claims that the full game looked visually different in the ads, that warp speed through the galaxy was inaccurately represented, and that Hello Games was misleading in its suggestion that players could engage in battles over territories.

Meanwhile, after keeping a low profile for several weeks, Hello Games has whipped the cloak off a new update to No Man's Sky. The first of "many" free patches, it introduces base-building to the game and promises to serve as a "foundation for things to come."

Alysia Judge is video host at IGN, and is sad that base building in No Man's Sky does not include the construction of buttery biscuit cheesecake bases. Where's that update, eh, Hello Games? Lobby Sean Murray with her on Twitter.

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