"Joke's on them," says No Man's Sky lead as rival survival game confirms it's replacing an eerily familiar cosmetic

Once Human continues to persevere in what is a super competitive time for survival games, with developer Starry Studio rolling out some big new features in recent months. A new class system, the PvP-focused Raid Zone, and even a crossover with survival rival Palworld have all arrived. This steady stream of new additions is great to see, but like any free PC game wanting a long and prosperous life on Steam, an even faster flow of microtransactions is required. However, one decoration item found in its new loot crates has led to accusations of directly imitating an asset found in No Man's Sky. While Hello Games head Sean Murray light-heartedly tells Starry Studio that the "joke's on you," the Once Human dev is now taking action. In a statement provided to PCGamesN, it confirms it is removing the problematic item from the game.

Once Human's Thunder Overload cosmetic lineup brings some flashy (and rather revealing) outfits to the game, alongside a reactive weapon skin that turns the SKS into a mechanical dragon. In the Sky King loot crate, you'll also be able to unlock some futuristic furniture and decorative items for your base, including a rather elaborate exercise bike. The actual bike itself is mounted within a circular frame that has an electrified inner ring.

However, a few days ago, fans of both games began to notice some suspicious parallels between this exercise bike item and the Base Teleport Module in No Man's Sky - the craftable item that lets you zip between your established bases. While there are some differences - notably the color and the fact the central ring now glows with electricity and gyrates - there are certainly more similarities in its design.

This has now caught the attention of Murray, who doesn't seem all that worried about this alleged imitation. It has, however, highlighted a surprising mistake in the Base Teleport Module's design.

"Joke's on them," Murray says in response to an X post criticizing Once Human's exercise bike item. "We forgot to LOD those rivets." An attached screenshot shows some ridiculously high-polygon rivets that Hello Games has seemingly overlooked in its LOD (level of detail) optimization process. I assume that the Base Teleport Module has had these small but remarkably detailed components since launch, but perhaps this is an earlier development screenshot that Murray has pulled out here.

While certainly not a direct copy-and-paste job, I personally find it difficult to believe that Once Human's exercise bike isn't at least heavily inspired, design-wise, by No Man's Sky's teleporter.

This isn't the first time Once Human has been accused of imitating assets from other videogame either. Earlier in the year, it appeared to yoink the symbol for Rainbow Six Siege operator Caveira and slap it on a weapon charm included in a battle pass. The design was later updated with a new color scheme and altered design, but its inspirations were still arguably entrenched in that Caveira emblem.

After reaching out to Starry Studio about this latest incident involving the exercise bike cosmetic, the developer provided us with the following statement, confirming that it would be replacing it.

"We take this very seriously and want everyone to feel confident in the creative work that goes into the game. We are committed to ensuring that our work remains original and respectful of the broader creative community. Honouring original creativity is fundamental to who we are and how we operate.

"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 to improve."