Never before has a game so hyped come crashing down as much and as fast as No Man’s Sky did. While we maintain that it was, ultimately, a flawed but fun game that space enthusiasts would probably end up appreciating, there is no denying that there are a plethora of features for the game that were promised to be in, but are missing in the final release- unlike the universe that it aims to portray, No Man’s Sky comes off as painfully limited next to its own ambition and promise.
That, plus its laundry list of errors and glitches on PS4 and PC, as well as a complete and total lack of communication on the game from Hello Games’ Sean Murray since a day after the game released, means that a lot of people who spent $60 on the title are feeling left betrayed, as if they were cheated out of their money. The situation here is a tad unprecedented- and it looks like PSN, and Amazon are all recognizing that to work outside of their usual boundaries, too.
Multiple users on Reddit and NeoGAF are reporting that all three of these outlets are honoring requests for refunds of the game regardless of the play time that players have logged into the game– general refund policies for digital games usually stipulate maximum play time beyond which no refund requests are honored. It appears as though the game’s purported misleading advertising, as well as the whole host of errors that often make it outright unplayable, are enough for PSN, Steam, and Amazon to work with customers on this one.
Meanwhile, while PC players have also reported getting refunds, Steam are maintaining that there is no official change in policy on their end– they note that there are no exemptions in how refunds are working, so keep in mind, this is not official, nor is this guaranteed- just widespread enough that if you’ve logged in more than the minimum 2 hours, and had the game either not run for your properly, or felt dissatisfied with it, you can still, at least, attempt to request a refund. Sony and Amazon, meanwhile, have not made any official comments on the matter yet.
No Man’s Sky is available on PC and PS4.