No Man's Sky has been mired by controversy since its release last week. From PC performance issues, confusion over the game's maybe/maybe not multiplayer features and general disappointment over the game itself, it seems like Hello Games and creator Sean Murray can't catch a break.
Add one more controversy to the ever-growing list: Murray comments on free DLC. Speaking with Red Bull on Aug. 9, Murray clearly says there will be no paid DLC, only patches. There's even a full quote in the article that says just that.
"We do want to add a ton of features, like we've just discussed: Freighters, bases, these type of things," Murray says. "But we want to do it for free. You've paid for the game, so you should get this stuff without paying even more money. So no, there will be no paid DLC, just patches."
Now, talking with the UK tabloid Daily Star, Murray is taking back those statements. He says that, perhaps he was naive in suggesting No Man's Sky would only have free updates.
"Maybe in the future there's some reason why we just couldn't possibly afford to do a certain feature without charging for it," Murray says.
It sounds like fans can still expect a large number of free updates to the game, including the ability to build bases and own massive space freighters in an upcoming update. However, there may come a time when Hello Games might charge for a massive new feature.
These sort of wishy-washy comments from Murray is one of the major reasons some players have found No Man's Sky disappointing. It seems as if he never makes definitive statements. He's intentionally vague and often leaves room for interpretation.
Such is the case surrounding the game's multiplayer. Murray regularly told fans that the game wasn't a multiplayer title, yet when asked if players could bump into one another in the game's universe, he said it was possible, though extremely unlikely. The first day of the game's release, two players found themselves on the exact same planet and in the same spot but couldn't see one another. Rather than definitively comment on whether or not the players were supposed to be able to see one another, Murray made more vague statements on Twitter that only led to more confusion about what is and isn't possible in No Man's Sky.
However, when he wasn't vague at all, as when he talked about the game never having paid DLC, he then turned around and said that's not actually the case. At this point, it's hard to put much stock in anything Murray actually says. As of now, it's probably best fans take the "wait and see" approach to the game's DLC, if and when it does arrive.
