No Man’s Sky has been a source of controversy since the PS4 and PC game released this August and that hasn’t stopped in recent days. Has Hello Games really abandoned its office in fear of threats? Let’s investigate!
Questions began swirling shortly after a Reddit thread went live last week. In an effort to prove or disprove the studio’s activity level, one user traveled to the headquarters on Walnut Tree Close to take some pictures. What was shown appeared to be dark, lifeless structure with trash and debris near the threshold. For a place of work, it didn’t look too active. The photo was taken on a Saturday after all. That, however, didn’t stop the Internet from drawing its own conclusions very quickly.
Hello Games (No Mans Sky) offices appear to be abandoned.Speculation sparked from a NeoGAF thread linked to the findings. In an early reply, one interested gamer that supposedly had a connection to Hello Games said the developers were working from home due to fear of threats and hostile action. From there the story grew, and some major publications even picked it up.
It was a few hours later that word was received from the studio via Twitter. Whether tied to the rumors or not, project composer Paul Wier reiterated that “Sean is fine and we're all busy on the next patch.” That message at least confirmed work was still being done, but it didn’t say much about where that work was happening.
What we have today, however, is a more concrete implication of in-office activity. As of a week ago, No Man’s Sky artist Jacob Golding tweeted that a “girl ran down the street asking for help, but she was gone by the time we got outside.” When pressed further about where the incident took place, Golding replied “Walnut Tree Close.” From those details, we can gather that the “we” referenced in the tweet is likely to be Hello Games developers working inside their building on that street.
Girl ran down the street screaming for help but she was gone by the time we got outside. Whole street came out to look. Now helicopters :/
— Jacob Golding (@BaconJacob) October 13, 2016
In other words, these rumors are totally false and have little basis in fact beyond a picture that shows an average office on a Saturday. Working from home is often an option in tech-related fields, but apparently that doesn’t seem to be happening all the time. As of now, the team seems to be reasonably together while working on the game’s next content update.
Of course, we’d be remiss if we were to describe the entire No Man’s Sky situation as rosy. In the corresponding NeoGAF thread, It’s also noted that the Hello Games contact site no longer features the names of a producer and community manager once attached to the project. However, amidst some possible staff changes, it appears three new developers have been hired. Losing key employees is bad, but it’s fairly common after product launches in the games industry.
Even so, that doesn’t change No Man’s Sky’s reputation for shoddy performance, false advertising claims and an overall poor critical reception.
No Man’s Sky is available now on PS4 and PC.What do you think of these abandonment rumors? Will we ever get a substantial response from Hello Games? Tell us in the comments section!
