No Man’s Sky Embargo Broken, Sony Claims Online Game Footage An Unfair Depiction Of The Game

Even if the action-adventure survival game No Man's Sky isn't your kind of game, it's hard to argue that the title has lead to one of the most interesting development cycles we've seen in recent years. It's a game that half a year ago went under most people's radar, but today? It can't stay out of the news, and for a myriad of reasons.

This past May, the game's developer, Hello Games, had to deliver the unfortunate news that the game would be delayed until this month, which is news that didn't go down well with many of the game's legion of fans. One journalist even received death threats after being the first to report on the news. It's no secret: No Man's Sky has one heck of a passionate fanbase.

Finally, after five years of painstaking effort, Hello Games announced last month that the game had gone gold. The game is now slated to come out on Tuesday for the PlayStation 4, and has been bumped back (again) to August 12th for the PC.

Soon enough, the game will be accessible to all, but until then, fans have been anxious to find more information about the title, to help whet their appetites in advance of the release. For some, that includes watching leaked footage from someone who spent a healthy $1,300 on an advanced copy of the game. What came next? A couple of websites that decided to post their thoughts in advance of the game's launch. Oh boy - this keeps getting better.

PSA: Several publications, incl some large ones, have reported to us that they won't be receiving No Man's Sky review copies prior to launch

— OpenCritic (@Open_Critic) August 1, 2016

A tweet from @OpenCritic earlier this week draws attention to the fact that gaming websites would not be seeded an early code, and that's apparently rubbed some outlets the wrong way. Polygon is one site that decided to post its thoughts on the game early and even went to so far as to post up a 1-hour gameplay video. The video has since been removed after a DMCA threat from Sony. Who knew this game was such serious business?

Sony, as well as Hello Games, is obviously pleading with fans to just wait for the launch, so as to experience the game for themselves and in its fully sanctioned release form. Sony notes that early footage isn't a "fair depiction" of the game, which is a bit of an odd statement since it is final code. Nonetheless, some fans are miffed at the fact that despite the debacle, and the fact that some are getting early copies, Sony will not open the floodgates early and let everyone who bought a copy jump right in. Sony's playing hard ball, but if there's an upside, it's probably that we're just days away from the game's release. Finally.