No Man’s Sky was meant to be one of the biggest video game releases of 2016, but instead the title has been engulfed in an ongoing backlash surrounding its perceived lack of content. One flashpoint for this unrest was the game’s subreddit, which was shut down by its lead moderator earlier this morning.
“It’s become a hate filled wastehole of no actual discussion,” wrote the moderator, who posts under the username r0ugew0lf. “It’s not what we intended it to be and I don’t like providing a platform for hate.”
The No Man’s Sky subreddit served as a popular discussion forum for eager fans ahead of the game’s release, and for disillusioned players in the wake of its launch. More than 140,000 Reddit users are subscribed to the subreddit.
Earlier today, every single post from the subreddit’s two-year lifespan was purged by r0ugew0lf, causing a great deal of resentment from user. This action was later undone by fellow moderator Sporkicide, who is taking the reins going forward, according to a report from Eurogamer.
“At the core of things, this is a subreddit and a community centered around No Man’s Sky,” wrote Sporkicide in a post addressing the changeover. “I’m asking everyone here to participate in good faith and leave any frustration with the recent situation at the door.”
Sporkicide also noted that any further posts criticizing former moderators will be deleted. A new admin team is set to be established in the hopes of keeping things civil going forward.
For many, the furor surrounding No Man’s Sky has died down, but this kind of internet drama demonstrates that there are still very strong feelings about the game among its most hardcore supporters. At this point, there’s little that developer Hello Games can do to assuage detractors — but it will certainly be interesting to see creative lead Sean Murray’s response to the backlash when he re-emerges.
