Hello Games brings No Man's Sky to iPhone and iPad on 28 October

Hello Games announced on 12 October that No Man's Sky is coming to the iPhone and iPad on 28 October 2026. The sci-fi exploration game, first released a decade ago, arrives on iOS as a free-to-try download. Pre-orders opened the same day on the App Store, which is running an Indie Games Week promotion featuring the title alongside other independent games.theverge.com+1

The release matters because it brings one of gaming's most expansive universe-generation games to Apple's mobile devices for the first time, after a Mac version arrived in 2023 and a promised iPad version failed to appear in 2022. Hello Games co-founder Sean Murray wrote in a blog post that the iOS build is not a stripped-down edition: "I guess I should say this is not No Man's Sky Lite." The port carries all updates from the past decade.gametimers.it

What the iOS version includes

The iOS version includes more than forty major updates, among them the Voyagers expansion from last year, which let players build their own large starships, and the Cosmos update released in September. Murray said the game offers "the full universe to explore." The one significant omission at launch is multiplayer, alongside planetary settlements, matching the restrictions of the original Nintendo Switch release. Hello Games eventually added those features to the Switch 2 version.

Murray said the studio intends to follow the same pattern it used on Nintendo Switch. "Based on feedback and player numbers we will support iOS in a similar way," he wrote. The game generates its universe on the device itself, at run-time, rather than on remote servers, which means the iPhone or iPad builds the world as the player explores it. That approach keeps the download small while demanding significant processing power from the handset.

The download weighs in at under 5GB, though iDropNews reports the figure as 4GB, and Hello Games' official announcement cites a size below 4GB. The game runs on the iPhone 11 and 3rd generation iPad Air and above, which corresponds to devices with an A12 Bionic chip or later running at least iOS 26. Murray said the team worked to broaden support beyond the newest handsets.

Device limits and pricing

Planetary settlements require an iPhone 15 Pro or later, the same baseline used for console-quality ports such as Resident Evil Village and Assassin's Creed Mirage. The full game unlocks through a one-time $20 in-app purchase, iDropNews reports, though The Verge notes the full price has not been confirmed. Murray said the team worked to broaden support beyond the newest handsets.

Controls were redesigned for touch, with additional support for game controllers, casting to a television, and mouse and keyboard on the iPad. Murray said the team invested heavily in battery life and thermodynamics so the game can be "enjoyed for really long comfortable play sessions." In a 2023 interview with AppleInsider, he had described the iPad challenge as larger than expected, citing interface and battery concerns.

How the port was built

The port also drew on engineering from Hello Games' next project, Light No Fire. Murray explained that the two titles share an engine, allowing performance and memory optimisations to transfer between them, according to gametimers.it. The Mac version, released in 2023, was built with Apple using the Metal 3 graphics interface to reach console-quality visuals while preserving laptop battery life.

No Man's Sky arrives on iOS as part of Apple's Indie Games Week on the App Store, alongside Sifu, Vampire Crawlers, Dome Keeper and Little Kitty, Big City. Carson Oliver, Apple's head of App Store Worldwide, said the company wanted to celebrate "the teams that take creative risks to push gaming forward." The iOS release adds to a platform list that already includes Mac, PC, consoles and virtual reality.

The game launches on 28 October 2026 as a free-to-try download, with pre-orders open from 12 October. Hello Games has not said whether buyers of the Steam version will receive a free cross-grade to iOS. Murray said support for the iOS version will follow player feedback and numbers, mirroring how the studio expanded the Switch and Switch 2 releases after launch.