Earlier this week, a post on the official No Man’s Sky subreddit highlighted what clearly looks like some digital theft. Some premium cosmetics sold via a loot box in the free-to-play survival game Once Human look virtually identical to teleporters in space exploration game No Man’s Sky.
While a circular object that can teleport someone has been a staple of science fiction since at least the film Stargate, the more you look at these two 3D assets, the more similarities you’ll spot; they’re virtually indistinguishable save for a different color theme. Managing director for NMS dev Hello Games, Sean Murray, was one of the many internet denizens who took note (h/t GamesRadar). Though instead of expressing outrage, he’s taken a more playful approach, pointing out an oversight in the original design.
“Jokes on them” Murray wrote on X, “we forgot to LOD those rivets 😅”
jokes on them – we forgot to LOD those rivets 😅 https://t.co/XYvgdFXLas pic.twitter.com/KXRD3F5X1i
— Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) December 2, 2025
So if the assets are indeed ripped from No Man’s Sky, it will come with some very unoptimized geometry for Once Human to wrestle with.
The heck is a LOD?
“LOD” stands for “level of detail.” Various objects in any given 3D game will have different LODs depending on how far away from the object a viewer is. The further you are, the less detail there is on the object. This aids in rendering and stress on the machine producing the geometry. There’s no sense in having a fully detailed 3D object if you’re many miles away. Here’s a video demonstrating the technique in Breath of the Wild:
So next time you’re playing a massive open-world game, now you know why objects look a little funny from a vast distance—especially if you’re playing Once Human and looking at some allegedly stolen assets.
Updated; 12/3/2025, 11:20 a.m. ET:
Once Human devs removing the asset, conducting a ‘thorough review’
In a statement to PCGamesN, Once Human’s devs stated they are taking the allegations “very seriously and want everyone to feel confident in the creative work that goes into the game.” They continued:
With this in mind, we will replace the asset in question. We are undertaking a thorough review and will be using this moment to strengthen our internal art and design policies. We genuinely appreciate the community members who brought this to our attention. This feedback helps us improve.
As PCGamesN notes, Once Human has been accused of using assets based on other games before, such as Caveira’s symbol from Rainbow Six Siege. Maybe they’ve finally learned their lesson now?
