No Man's Sky game developer sent death threats after release date delayed

The creator of No Man's Sky, an upcoming sci-fi exploration game, says he received death threats online after reports surfaced that the game's release was pushed back.

Gaming news site Kotaku reported Wednesday that the game's June 21 launch date had been pushed back, citing multipleunnamed sources. The report included images of a Gamestop retail outlet flyer promoting the game, but with a "coming soon" sticker placed atop the June 21 date.

Two days later,No Man's Sky creator Sean Murray wrote on Sony's PlayStation Blog that the date has been pushed back to August 9.

"As we approached ourfinal deadlines, we realized some key moments needed extra polish to bring them up to our standards," Murray wrote.

"We understand that this news is disappointing. Making this game is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but we are so close now, and we're prepared to make the tough choices to get it right."

Since it was first announced in 2014, gamers have maintained a feverish anticipation for the title developed by Murray's 10-person, U.K.-basedstudioHello Games.

Promising more than18 quintillion (18,446,744,073,709,551,616) planets to discover and explore, it's been previewed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and in publications like The New Yorker.

After the news broke, Murray tweeted that he had received "loads ofdeath threats," presumably from gamers irked that they would have to wait an additional seven weeks before diving into No Man's Sky. He cited legal and retail-related reasons for why he was unable to speak about it sooner.

Kotaku reporter Jason Schreier, who wrote the original story, also received death threats because of the report.

"Your little article about No Man's Sky being delayed has made me hate you to my very core," one person wrote, according to a screenshotSchreiertweeted. "Sounds like you have a death wish. We will find you," it continues.

Schreiertold CBC News that "only two people" sent him death threats, but he also received "a lot of nasty messages, and a fair number of people on the No Man's Sky subreddit [message board]had a lot of bile for me and Kotaku."

Some users on the subredditaccused Schreier of fabricating news of the delay. Many inflammatoryposts have since been removed or edited by moderators over the weekend.