We get it. It can be a bit of a stink to learn that something you were waiting for is going to be delayed—especially if you've been waiting for a significant amount of time. Such is the case with No Man's Sky, the much-anticipated PC and PlayStation 4 game that features procedurally generated worlds in a giant, open universe that you explore with everyone else playing the game.
Early previews of the science-fiction-themed game have been pretty positive, but the buzz for No Man's Sky has been built chiefly around its promise that the game is so big, you're unlikely to even run into other players very frequently (if at all). If you do, or at least hit up places that others have previously explored, you'll see a little note to tell you whoever it was that made their first steps onto one of the game's rumored 18 quintillion planets.
Ambitious, no? Perhaps a bit too ambitious, as the developers for No Man's Sky recently announced that they were delaying the game from its original June 2016 release date to August 9 (in North America).
Rather than just sigh, deal with it, and find some other games to entertain them until the new launch date, some No Man's Sky fans have decided to instead send death threats to the developers. While we doubt that'll help the developers launch the game any faster, it's certainly unpleasant for them to have to deal with—to put it mildly.
"I have received loads of death threats this week, but don't worry, Hello Games now looks like the house from Home Alone #pillowfort," wrote Sean Murry on Twitter yesterday. Murry co-founded Hello Games, the studio developing No Man's Sky.
"Tell me when its safe to remove the marbles and oil from the stairs. It's getting really cumbersome, and I need the toilet," he added.
As Polygon reported, reporters covering the game (and its delay) have been threatened, too. And over at the PlayStation blog, specifically the post that announced the delay, the comments section is a big mix of happy and upset gamers:
"You guys who are being supportive of this are way too forgiving. In no other industry is this acceptable at least not to the extent that it has permeated the video games industry. There comes a point where you can't even identify let alone fix even the major bugs in each new version you compile. It's been like 6 years this guy needs to release it already," one commenter wrote.
"In terms of ability to hit a deadline, I'd say your 'hardest working' team is about as hard working as naughty dog… I was beyond excited for this game when I saw it at the first PSX two years ago but that energy is long gone now and you won't see a cent from me for it. I wish others to find all the enjoyment they can from the game whenever it does actually come out and you've decided your moments are polished enough," said another.
Thankfully, there are still plenty of people who realize that a game is just a game, and a few months' delay isn't that big of a deal in the end—so long as the game is good by the time it comes out. After all, the alternative isn't much better: Releasing a game before it's finished and hacking off purchasers with every successive patch attempt.