No Man's Sky cleared of false advertising charges

No Man’s Sky cleared of false advertising charges

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 15: Hello Games, Sean Murray demonstrates 'No Man's Sky' during the Sony E3 press conference at the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena on June 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The Sony press conference is held in conjunction with the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) which focuses on gaming systems and interactive entertainment, featuring introductions to new products and technologies. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Hello Games came under scrutiny a few months ago after formal complaints were lodged about the false marketing of their game, No Man’s Sky.

Multiple news outlets are reporting today that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has found no wrongdoing in the content of No Man’s Sky advertising, effectively dismissing complaints that Hello Games had misled consumers about the nature of the game.

Above the general disappointment after No Man’s Sky‘s release, formal complaints were made specifically about what was shown in promotional materials. Players pointed to multiple different aspects of those materials that had not manifested themselves in-game, including user interface design, ship-flying behavior, and size of creatures.

According to IGN, the ASA has declared that “no further action is required” in this matter. They stated that promotional materials had been developed from in-game footage and that Hello Games had understandably chosen clips which painted the game in the best light. The ASA found that promotional footage was overall consistent with actual gameplay.

The ASA also touched on the fact No Man’s Sky is a game based on random procedural content generation. Naturally, it follows that what has been shown in advertisements will not exactly match the player’s experience. Therefore, the content displayed in ads simply depict potential game experiences, not guaranteed ones.

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While there are still players who are unsatisfied with No Man’s Sky, the reputation of the game has been steadily gaining traction in the recent week after the release of the Foundations update. Most agree that the update is a step in the right direction, and are encouraging players to return to the game. Hello Games has also stated that Foundations is only the first of more updates to come.

Many agree the update is a step in the right direction, and are encouraging players to return to the game. Hello Games has also stated Foundations is only the first of more updates to come.