They certainly did have obligations which would have been realised if they left the game as it was. Out of policy refunds were rife soon after launch and it was only when they made a tactical PR move about future updates after being in hiding, did that plug it. Sony then totally distanced themselves from the studio and game after that - they were largely to blame for the charade too.
It definitely wasn't polished on release either - I remember the severe optimisation issues and very limited gameplay loop. Battlefield and Cyberpunk is like comparing cow shit with horse shit - the big difference with those games was they covered themselves legally in very crafty terms whereas No Mans Sky bullshitted people until the 11th hour and then in hiding managed to introduce terms to stem future out of policy refund attempts. That was also a slick move through SteamWorks and Sony.
People believed those to be features, not development ideas and even when the first update was announced, they even admitted they had no idea what it would entail which demonstrated they had no forwarding strategy outside their skeleton creation. They did come good on a few features plus some other original ones but that didn't stop people being mislead for years and just because something is included down the line doesn't exonerate them from their actions prior.
If I am given a job to renovate a house, paid £100,000 and I only do one room in 3 years, I wouldn't expect a fanfare and bus parade celebration when I complete the job 4 years after that to the specifications I originally stated. NMS has banked some serious money so what they have produced is the least expected really and the end product now is just like any other game - it's just been developed and publicised in a very favorable way due to the circumstances it created.
It's a good success story for British developers and Sean and the rest of the studio have learned some damning lessons along the way but at the same time they've been very lucky not just in terms of money but the positive exposure they've relentlessly been given even when they were in hiding. The game is also seen as a staple for AAA titles releasing the ship now patch later state along with anti-consumer contractual terms being embedded into TOS. Far more deserving, honest and credible indie titles in existence that go under the radar because of shit-shows like this saga.