Sean Murray Issues Statement After Once Human is Accused of Stealing No Man’s Sky Asset and Selling it at a Premium

Sean Murray, head of Hello Games, has responded amusingly to allegations that developer Starry Studio has taken an asset from No Man’s Sky and repurposed it for its open-world survival game, Once Human. Earlier this week, accusations against the Once Human studio began making the rounds online, and while many expected Hello Games to be outraged at another studio potentially repurposing an asset from No Man’s Sky for another product, Murray appears to have taken it on the chin and responded with a joke about the situation.

Earlier this week, a post from Reddit user Koyonaku appeared on the unofficial No Man’s Sky subreddit, pointing out how a cosmetic item in Once Human looked “extremely similar” to the Base Teleport Module from No Man’s Sky. The user also pointed out that the item is being sold as a high-tier lootbox reward, questioning whether that is an acceptable practice. While there’s currently no confirmation if the studio did take the asset directly from No Man’s Sky, it’s hard to deny the striking similarities. Although portals are generally designed the same way in most science fiction games, movies, and TV shows, the only difference between these two designs is the color and the addition of a workout bike. Otherwise, the two assets are nearly identical.

Related

Best No Man’s Sky Updates Ever

Relive the evolution of No Man’s Sky through its most impactful updates. From co-op multiplayer to corvettes and beyond.

Hello Games Boss Responds to Accusations Against Once Human

Following the allegations, it didn’t take long for Sean Murray, co-founder of Hello Games, to catch wind of the post. Many would expect an executive and game developer to be outraged at the thought of another studio possibly stealing assets, but Murray replied jokingly by saying the “joke’s on them,” before saying that Hello Games forgot to LOD (level of detail) the rivets on the Teleport Module. The dev is essentially saying that all of the rivets on the portal are overly detailed for their size, which could lead to performance issues in-game. While this wouldn’t be a problem for a larger asset, it’s rare for a studio to have such incredible detail on something the player likely won’t even look at. So, if Starry Studio really did rip the asset directly from No Man’s Sky, they’ve done nothing but inherit a potential performance problem.

At the time of writing, Starry Studio has not responded to these allegations, but the game’s community has chimed in to call out the potential copyright infringement. “Literally the same asset lmao,” one user said, which was then echoed by hundreds of other users. Some even said that it was “totally worthy of a lawsuit,” but given Murray’s response, it seems Hello Games may be unlikely to go down that route. The original poster also made a point of noting how this is not an item that can be obtained through gameplay and is instead part of Once Human‘s premium lootbox system, which some may argue makes the allegations even worse.

This isn’t the first time that accusations of asset theft have been thrown at Once Human, as Starry Studio was previously accused of using icons from Ubisoft’s smash-hit first-person shooter, Rainbow Six Siege. The icons were then quietly removed from the game after the community caught wind of it.

Fans have also been extremely vocal about the overall price of cosmetics in Once Human. While the game itself is free-to-play, some have said they feel “cheated,” as one player said they were looking to obtain the Tron Light Cycle, which would cost 15 gems, approximately $500 worth.

As for No Man’s Sky, the space exploration game has been on a comeback akin to Cyberpunk 2077. When it first launched in 2016, No Man’s Sky was heavily criticised by players as many believed it was not the game promised by Hello Games. Missing features, technical problems, and more made it one of the most controversial releases in gaming. However, thanks to continued support and a huge number of content updates over the years, No Man’s Sky has become a fan favorite for those searching for a massive space exploration and survival game.

Released

August 9, 2016

ESRB

T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Animated Blood