UK advertising standards agency is investigating No Man's Sky

UK independent advertising regulator, the ASA, has confirmed it's investigating No Man's Sky. 

Speaking to Eurogamer, the ASA said it had decided to act after receiving "several complaints" regarding Hello Games' procedurally generated title. 

Both Hello Games and Valve have been contacted by the group, which is focusing its investigation on how the game is being represented on the Steam store. 

Given that the investigation is ongoing, no further details were revealed, but it's worth noting that the ASA states it will take action against any "misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing."

"If we judge an ad to be in breach of the UK Advertising Codes, it must be withdrawn or amended and the advertiser must not use the approach again," it continues. 

Although the ASA says its mission is to "bring about compliance […] rather than punish advertisers," failure to comply with a ruling could result in more severe sanctions.

Another ASA statement posted by Reddit user AzzerUK, who issued a complaint, suggests the outcome of the Steam investigation will also apply to other forms of marketing using the same material. 

"We will ensure the advertisers are made aware of any points relating to other marketing material under their control (such as the Hello Games YouTube channel and website)," said the group. 

"The outcomes of ASA investigations are cross-applicable to other marketing making the same claims, so any decision reached in relation to the Steam page would apply to other advertising for No Man’s Sky where the same (or materially similar) claims appear."