News date: October 12, 2026. Hello Games confirmed that No Man’s Sky is coming to iPhone and iPad on October 28, 2026, bringing the full ten-year game, all its free updates included, to mobile for the first time. Studio head Sean Murray announced the No Man’s Sky iOS release in a surprise video, and pre-orders are already open on the App Store.
What happened
Sean Murray dropped the news himself in a deep-dive video rather than through a press release, which is pretty on-brand for how Hello Games has handled every other surprise update to this game since 2016. The iOS version isn’t a cut-down spin-off either. It’s described as the full game plus “all previously released updates,” meaning the Cosmos update, Worlds Part II, Xeno Arena, The Swarm, Voyagers, and the various seasonal community expeditions all ship on day one.
Requirements are tighter than you’d expect for most mobile games. You’ll need iOS or iPadOS 26.0 and a device with an A12 Bionic chip or newer, which in practice means an iPhone 11 or later. Download size sits around 4GB. There’s no Android version and no release plans for one at the moment, and Murray hasn’t said anything about an Android port down the line.
The interface was rebuilt from scratch for touch. Hello Games says players can tap and drag through inventory grids, quickly cycle tools, and fly ships with on-screen controls instead of a mapped gamepad layout glued onto a touchscreen. If you’d rather not deal with touch controls at all, the game supports wireless PlayStation DualSense and Xbox controllers, plus keyboard and mouse on iPad. There’s also AirPlay support if you want to cast gameplay to a TV.
Why it matters
No Man’s Sky has spent ten years rebuilding its reputation from one of gaming’s roughest launches into one of the most consistently supported live games around, and a full mobile release is a pretty big statement of confidence. Most “AAA on mobile” ports end up stripped down, timer-gated, or reworked around a different monetization model. This one is being pitched as the same universe, 18 quintillion planets and all, running on a phone.
It’s also a meaningful test case for how far current iPhone hardware has come. An open-world survival and exploration game with procedural planets, base building, space combat, and multiplayer has always been something people assumed you needed a console or a decent PC for. If it runs well on an A12 chip, that’s a real signal for what other big console games could follow onto mobile.
What’s next / how to get it
The game releases October 28, 2026, on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. Pricing is listed as a one-time $19.99 purchase rather than free-to-play with microtransactions, and there’s a free trial of the opening section available at launch if you want to test performance on your device before buying. Hello Games hasn’t confirmed whether existing PC or console save files will carry over to the mobile version, so treat it as a fresh start for now unless the studio says otherwise closer to release.
If you’re on an iPhone 11, 12, or 13 and curious whether it’ll actually run smoothly, it’s worth waiting for early hands-on impressions once the game is out rather than pre-ordering blind, especially on older A12/A13 hardware.
FAQ
Is No Man’s Sky coming to Android?
Not currently. Hello Games has only announced iPhone and iPad, with no Android version mentioned or planned as of this announcement.
How much does No Man’s Sky cost on iOS?
It’s listed as a one-time $19.99 purchase, with a free trial of the early game available so you can test it on your device first.
What do you think — would you play a full console-scale game like this on your phone, or does it feel like the wrong device for it? Let us know in the comments.
Source(s): Beebom, Dot Esports
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I’m genuinely surprised it’s iOS-only with no word on Android, but if the touch controls actually hold up I’d rather play this on a plane than drag my Deck around.
