'They're a joke' – No Man's Sky creator mocks once-human premium cosmetics as 'eerily similar' and says it's not finished yet

no man's sky Fans claim that an asset from the sci-fi sandbox game has been repurposed in once human Without permission – and now the bosses of Hello Games are getting involved.

This week for No Man’s Sky fans reddit An “eerily similar” cosmetic was tagged in Once Human, and it's now being sold as a premium loot reward in the post-apocalyptic survival game. The object is No Man's Sky's circular base teleportation module, which appears to have been redesigned into some sort of sci-fi exercise bike, with a simple bike frame and a new paint job added.

Now, the controversy has moved beyond Reddit and reached Sean Murray, the head of No Man's Sky developer Hello Games, after fans raised questions. Murray's response? When he reacts to the asset's apparent use elsewhere, his reaction is one of amusement.

“It's a joke to them,” Murray wrote in one post. postal “We forgot to LOD these rivets,” he continued, referring to the lack of lower-quality object models when viewed from a distance, which could cause performance issues.

No Man's Sky fan Koyonaku posted on Reddit about the similarities between the two objects, noting that Only Human's version “is not earned through gameplay – it is only available as a top-level reward in premium loot boxes, often at a hefty price.” This isn't the first time Only Human has been suspected of basing in-game assets on other games, the user claims.

“This issue was raised in the Once Human community a few days ago, but the item is still being sold without clarification or adjustments,” Koyonaku wrote. “There was a similar case in the past involving a similar icon to Rainbow Six that was quietly replaced. I'm not here to be dramatic or accuse anyone of legal wrongdoing. But I do think that sometimes silence allows things like this to be seen as normal.”

IGN has reached out to Only Human developer Starry Studio for comment.

Nearly a decade since its launch, No Man's Sky has recently launched its violation and Voyager Update from earlier this year. The Breach update allows players to salvage wreckage, unlocking new ship-building parts along the way, while Voyagers adds multi-crew capabilities and skydiving, among many other features.

Tom Phillips is IGN's news editor. You can contact Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social