No Man’s Sky is now under investigation for false advertising

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority announced it’s investigating the way No Man’s Sky has been advertised on Steam. Regulators from the ASA have examined the game’s Steam page and, based on the information presented there, compiled a list of ways that No Man’s Sky gameplay deviates from what the company’s advertising copy promises.

Rock Paper Shotgun has details on the investigation, as well as the initial findings by the ASA. Discrepancies between the advertised game and the actual title include:

Videos:
User interface design
Ship flying behavior (in formation; with a ‘wingman’; flying close to the ground)
Behavior of animals (in herds; destroying scenery; in water; reacting to surroundings)
Large-scale space combat
Structures and buildings as pictured
Flowing water
Speed of galaxy warp/loading time
Aiming systems

Screenshots:
Size of creatures
Behavior of ships and sentinels
Structures and buildings as pictured
Store Page in general:

Quality of graphics
References to: lack of loading screens, trade convoys between stars, factions vying over territory

The ASA has contacted both Valve and No Man’s Sky developer Hello Games to inform them of its findings. They have the opportunity to remove or correct the false advertising and, if they do so, no further action will be taken. Alternately, Hello Games might be allowed to patch the game to bring it into compliance with its advertising, but the near-complete radio silence from the developer (apart from patch notes) makes that unlikely.