Though No Man’s Sky NEXT is receiving rave reviews across the board, it isn’t plain sailing for developer Hello Games. The DRM-free version of the space sim available via CD Projekt Red’s flagship digital store front GOG.com doesn’t allow players to access multiplayer features. To add insult to injury it looks like this is to remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Issues with No Man’s Sky multiplayer on the platform predate today’s news. When the Atlas Rises
In a statement on the storefront site, authored in conjunction with Hello Games, GOG.com says ‘From launch, the DRM-free edition of No Man’s Sky will include all single-player content introduced by NEXT…However the multiplayer component will not be ready at launch; we expect it to be released later this year as full multiplayer parity remains in the pipeline.’
As for the why and how, the statement explains that developing multiplayer ‘across multiple platforms is a hugely ambitious and technical challenge which resulted in this delayed release’. In essence, Hello Games are a small studio and have limited resources. Logic dictates the developer opted to focus on Steam and console version as they represent the majority of No Man’s Sky players. The news is nonetheless disappointing for GOG.com users.
Conscious of the effects of the delayed release on player enjoyment, and probably exacerbated by player feedback, GOG.com are offering a no-questions-asked refund to all players. The offer circumvents GOG.com normal 30-day money back guarantee and can be obtained by contacting the web sites support team. The offer ends at Sunday, July 29, 10:00 PM UTC though so if you are affected make sure to act quickly. We anticipate players will obtain refunds and shift towards repurchasing the title on Steam, where it is currently the number one selling game.
