UPDATE: Once Human's developer has said it will pull the in-game asset which fans have said was stolen from No Man's Sky.
In a statement issued to IGN, Once Human maker Starry Studio said it was now undertaking a "thorough review" to determine how No Man's Sky's Base Teleport Module apparently turned up in its game, and thanked players for highlighting the issue.
"We take this very seriously and want everyone to feel confident in the creative work that goes into the game," a Starry Studio spokesperson said. "We are committed to ensuring that our work remains original and respectful of the broader creative community. Honouring original creativity is fundamental to who we are and how we operate.
"With this in mind, we will replace the asset in question. We are undertaking a thorough review and will be using this moment to strengthen our internal art and design policies. We genuinely appreciate the community members who brought this to our attention. This feedback helps us to improve."
ORIGINAL STORY: No Man's Sky fans have claimed that an asset from the sci-fi sandbox game has been repurposed for sale in Once Human without permission — and now the boss of Hello Games has gotten involved.
This week, No Man's Sky fans on reddit flagged an "extremely similar" cosmetic item in Once Human that's now being sold within the post-apocalyptic surival title as a high-tier lootbox reward. The object, No Man's Sky's circular Base Teleport Module, looks to have been repurposed as some kind of sci-fi exercise bike, with the addition of a simple bicyle frame and a fresh paint job.
Now, the controversy has stretched beyond the realm of reddit and reached Sean Murray, the head of No Man's Sky developer Hello Games, after fans flagged their suspicions. Murray's response? One of amusement more than anything else, as he reacted to the asset's apparent use elsewhere.
"Jokes on them," Murray wrote in a post on X. "We forgot to LOD those rivets," he continued, referencing the lack of a lower quality model for the object when viewed from afar — something that could cause performance issues.
Posting about the similarities of the two objects on reddit, No Man's Sky fan Koyonaku noted that Only Human's version "isn’t earned through gameplay — it is obtainable only as the highest-tier reward from a premium lootbox, often at significant cost." This isn't the first time Only Human has been suspected of basing in-game assets on other games, either, the user alleged.
"This was brought up several days ago in the Once Human community, but the item is still being sold without clarification or adjustment," Koyonaku wrote. "There was also a similar past case involving icon resemblance to Rainbow Six, which was quietly replaced. I’m not here to start drama or accuse anyone of legal wrongdoing. But I do think there are times when staying silent lets things like this slide into being treated as normal."
IGN has contacted Once Human developer Starry Studio for comment.
Almost a decade on from launch, No Man's Sky recently celebrated its best-ever player numbers, following the launch of its Breach and Voyagers updates earlier this year. The Breach update lets players salvage wrecks, unlocking new ship building parts along the way, while Voyagers added multiplayer ship crew capabilities and skydiving, among many other features.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
