ASA Rules Hello Games Did Not Mislead Customers With No Man’s Sky Advertising On Steam
Following an investigation into the highly controversial game No Man's Sky, the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority concluded that its developer Hello Games did not mislead customers in ads on Steam or otherwise exaggerate the game's features. As a result, Hello Games is allowed to keep screenshots, videos, and text that currently exists on the game's Steam page.
"We understood that the screenshots and videos in the ad had been created using game footage, and acknowledged that in doing this the advertisers would aim to show the product in the best light. Taking into account the above points, we considered that the overall impression of the ad was consistent with gameplay and the footage provided, both in terms of that captured by Hello Games and by third parties, and that it did not exaggerate the expected player experience of the game. We therefore concluded that the ad did not breach the Code," the ASA said.
The ASA investigated the various complaints concerning the way Hello Games present No Man's Sky on Steam and issued a statement of its assessment to each one. In no instance did the ASA find that Hello Games ran afoul of any rules or laws, not with regards to the game's graphics, its gameplay, or anything else.
"The summary description of the game made clear that it was procedurally generated, that the game universe was essentially infinite, and that the core premise was exploration. As such, we considered consumers would understand the images and videos to be representative of the type of content they would encounter during gameplay, but would not generally expect to see those specific creatures, landscapes, battles and structures," the ASA said.
No Man's Sky has a "Mostly Negative" rating on Steam out of more than 79,000 user reviews. Players lambasted the game for what they felt was a misrepresentation on Steam of the game's content and scope. The barrage of complaints led to the ASA opening an investigation into the matter, which is now concluded in Hello Games' favor.
The conclusion of the investigation comes after Hello Games recently broke its silence and released a massive patch called the Foundation Update. Hello Games said that the patch doesn't fix everything that's wrong with the game, but instead is intended to set the "foundation for things to come."
"We understood that the screenshots and videos in the ad had been created using game footage, and acknowledged that in doing this the advertisers would aim to show the product in the best light. Taking into account the above points, we considered that the overall impression of the ad was consistent with gameplay and the footage provided, both in terms of that captured by Hello Games and by third parties, and that it did not exaggerate the expected player experience of the game. We therefore concluded that the ad did not breach the Code," the ASA said.
The ASA investigated the various complaints concerning the way Hello Games present No Man's Sky on Steam and issued a statement of its assessment to each one. In no instance did the ASA find that Hello Games ran afoul of any rules or laws, not with regards to the game's graphics, its gameplay, or anything else.
"The summary description of the game made clear that it was procedurally generated, that the game universe was essentially infinite, and that the core premise was exploration. As such, we considered consumers would understand the images and videos to be representative of the type of content they would encounter during gameplay, but would not generally expect to see those specific creatures, landscapes, battles and structures," the ASA said.
No Man's Sky has a "Mostly Negative" rating on Steam out of more than 79,000 user reviews. Players lambasted the game for what they felt was a misrepresentation on Steam of the game's content and scope. The barrage of complaints led to the ASA opening an investigation into the matter, which is now concluded in Hello Games' favor.
The conclusion of the investigation comes after Hello Games recently broke its silence and released a massive patch called the Foundation Update. Hello Games said that the patch doesn't fix everything that's wrong with the game, but instead is intended to set the "foundation for things to come."
