Confusion took hold of much of Twitter this morning as Hello Games, the developers behind No Man’s Sky, ostensibly tweeted that their game “was a mistake.” Not a few hours after the tweet, many games news outlets received e-mails which were seemingly sent from Hello Games CEO Sean Murray’s e-mail address that apologized for the radio silence regarding fan reactions to the game. A few hours after that, Murray tweeted from his personal account, saying that their server was hacked, blaming someone’s use of LinkedIn without two factor authentication turned on.
Server hacked. We’re binging Mr Robot Episodes as quickly as we can looking for answers. Ep05 is a cracker
— Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) October 28, 2016
If anything was a mistake, it was using Linked In without 2FA.
— Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) October 28, 2016
However, according to Forbes, a representative from Hello Games said that the tweet wasn’t exactly a hack, and the tweet came from a “disgruntled employee.”
Kotaku shared the letter they received from Murray’s e-mail address, and it reads:
No Man’s Sky was a mistake.
I have contacted you because the silence from Hello Games has been unwarranted and unprofessional. The community has asked me to speak up, and I have a confession to make. The game was simply unfinished upon arrival. Our hand was forced by not only Sony, but the community as well. The constant harassment and absolute gross misconduct on the community’s part has made it hard to fulfill our artistic vision, while the pressure from Sony to release the game as soon as possible forced us to cut key features. I want to apologize for what we did not deliver on, as the game does not meet up to what our artistic vision was.
However, we do wish that the community was more understanding of our situation. Many people have asked for refunds despite our promise to continually improve and update No Man’s Sky. We are just a small studio that has poured our blood, sweat, and tears into this project. The complete lack of respect when it comes to the work we have done absolutely saddens not only myself, but the team as well. We want to improve the game to the point we dreamed of it being and beyond.
I hope everyone affected understands,
Sean Murray
This all comes after the beleaguered development studio had been on the receiving end of a lot of frustration from various people who were unhappy with how No Man’s Sky turned out. Murray’s previously active Twitter went silent on August 18th–until today, that is. Judging by the letter that was sent out, the apparent hack seems to have been conducted by someone who was tired of the silence.
What’s especially interesting is the fact that it’s said to have been from a disgruntled employee of Hello Games–perhaps indicating that the silence is also getting to people within the company as well. If that’s the case, that’s got to be a special kind of heartbreak for all involved.
It seems that Murray and Hello Games can’t seem to catch a break, and neither can their game or their fans. Earlier this month, the No Man’s Sky subreddit was purged and shut down by a moderator who had grown tired of the toxic community that had grown within its ranks. It quickly went back up afterwards, with a new mod staff in place. If you’ll remember, before the game even came out, Murray received death threats about the game from even more disgruntled fans who were unhappy with the game being delayed.
Wherever the hack may have come from, one thing is clear: Hello Games’ troubles are far from over.
(via Polygon)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
Follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google+.
