No Man’s Sky is being investigated by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority. This comes after they received “several complaints” about the game and its potentially misleading advertising.
The investigation centers on the Steam page for No Man’s Sky, a representative for the organization confirmed to Eurogamer. The ASA has the power to have advertisements it deems to be breaches of its code removed permanently. Advertisers who refuse to comply with the ASA’s ruling are hit with sanctions, such as having internet search sites remove paid-for ads for the advertiser.
Since the investigation is still ongoing, the ASA has declined to discuss the case further. However, one of the complainants posted the details of a response he received on the game’s Reddit page. The post confirms that the ASA investigation is focused on the game’s Steam page. It’s believed that the advertisements on the Steam page include assets that are not representative of the actual game. They have sent developer Hello Games and Valve a slew of questions related to the game’s advertisements.
The investigation was initiated after the ASA received several complaints about the advertising material for No Man’s Sky. The complaints centered around screenshots and videos showing large-scale combat, ship behavior, and advanced creature behavior that did not make it to the game. There were also complaints about the screenshots misrepresenting the game’s graphical quality. The Steam page’s references to no loading screens and factions were also mentioned.
Although the ASA investigation focuses on the Steam store page, any ruling they bring down will affect all advertisements for them game. This includes YouTube videos and entries on the PlayStation store.
“We will ensure the advertisers are made aware of any points relating to other marketing material under their control (such as the Hello Games YouTube channel and website),” the ASA stated.
