Monolith in No Man's Sky. Image via Hello Games
With few games being hyped up as much as No Man’s Sky, its developers, Hello Games, is coming to terms with the fact that someone with a leaked copy is releasing footage and harmful claims about the game.
Anyone familiar with gaming will have likely heard of the upcoming PS4 and PC game, No Man’s Sky, which promises players a chance to explore up to 18.4 quintillion planets using its procedurally-generated gaming engine.
Developed by Hello Games, the aim of the game is to reach the centre of the universe, each player will encounter new life forms and planets that will – for all intents and purposes – be unique to that player.
Temptation of being the only explorer
Now, after years of development and an unexpected delay, the game is due to be released on the PS4 in North America on 9 August followed by Europe on 10 August and on the PC platform on 12 August.
However, the build-up to the game has now been tarnished following what appears to be a leaked copy of the game being sold online for a high price.
In a Reddit post, user daymeeuhn, said that they had paid $1,250 for the leaked copy of the game on eBay and provided evidence using screenshots and videos from the game.
Explaining why they had paid such a huge amount for a game that will be released in a week’s time, daymeeuhn said: “My best gaming experiences have been when I’ve received games before street date, knowing I was truly on my own in the universe of that game, and no matter how tempted I might be to ask a friend for help or check a website for a tip or cheat, I can’t because it doesn’t exist.”
Hello Games responds
Perhaps worryingly for Hello Games and its founder, Irishman Sean Murray, daymeeuhn has claimed they have completed the game much faster than what has been advertised, which could put a number of players off purchasing the game.
“Contrary to what a lot of people think, I have done a lot of what the game has to offer,” the Reddit user claimed. “I actually intentionally took time out of my warp jumping over the course of going to the middle to explore planets to break up the monotony of it.”
However, they clarified to say that they have not fully explored the game yet.
Murray responded to the claims on Twitter, appearing to show that the Reddit user’s claim is indeed true, asking people not to spoil the game for themselves ahead of release.
We’ve spent years filling No Man’s Sky with surprises. You've spent years waiting. Please don't spoil it for yourself 🙁
— Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) July 29, 2016
As a result of an attempt to run streams of the game on sites like Twitch – a hub for gamers to stream themselves playing video games to an online audience – daymeeuhn’s channel has been shut down.
