News date: October 2, 2026. Sloclap’s Sifu mobile release date is locked in: the acclaimed kung-fu brawler launches on iOS and Android on October 12, 2026, bringing the full console story campaign to phones with touch controls built from scratch for the format. It’s a $7.99 download, not a free-to-play port with a shop bolted on, which is already rare enough for a game this size to make it worth flagging.
If you played Sifu on PS5, Xbox, Switch, or PC back when it launched in 2022, this isn’t a stripped-down spin-off. It’s the same revenge story, the same single-life-plus-aging mechanic, rebuilt to work with your thumbs instead of a controller.
What happened
Sloclap confirmed on October 2 that Sifu is coming to the App Store and Google Play on October 12, with pre-registration open now on both storefronts. The mobile build is a 2.1GB download and needs iOS/iPadOS 18.0 or later, and it’s also playable on Apple silicon Macs and Apple Vision Pro through compatibility.
The headline feature is that nothing’s been cut. You get the complete campaign, the full roster of locations from the original game’s nightclubs, galleries, and office towers, and the same Pak-Mei kung fu combat built around dodging, parrying, and chaining combos. What’s new is the control scheme: Sloclap reworked the camera and added contextual touch prompts so moves that used to map to a controller stick and two triggers now work with taps and swipes. Full external controller support is also in, if you’d rather play it that way (check our guide to the best mobile controllers) than rely on the touchscreen.
For anyone who hasn’t played it: Sifu follows a young martial artist hunting down the people who killed their father. Die, and you come back thanks to a mysterious amulet, but every death ages your character a little more, which changes your stats and eventually your face. It’s a punishing, one-more-try kind of game, and that loop is apparently intact on mobile.
Why it matters
Most console-to-mobile ports in this genre either get simplified into something closer to a gacha brawler or get buried behind a battle pass. Sifu mobile is doing the opposite: a flat $7.99 price, no stated monetization layer beyond the purchase, and marketing that leans on “nothing removed” rather than “now with more content.” That’s the model Capcom used for a lot of its mobile ports over the years, and it tends to earn more trust from players who’ve been burned by free-to-play versions of games they already own.
It’s also a decent stress test for how far touch controls can go with a genuinely hard action game. Sifu isn’t forgiving on a gamepad. Whether the rebuilt camera and contextual prompts hold up against enemies who punish bad dodges will say a lot about whether this kind of port becomes more common. A phone that can actually run this kind of action game at a stable frame rate matters here too (see our current picks for gaming phones) since Sifu’s combat punishes dropped frames hard.
What’s next
Pre-registration is live now on the App Store and Google Play. The game unlocks for everyone on October 12, 2026, at $7.99, with no free trial mentioned so far. If you already own Sifu on another platform, there’s no word yet on cross-save or a discount for returning players, so go in expecting a fresh purchase.
FAQ
Is Sifu mobile free-to-play?
No. It’s a paid download at $7.99, with the full story campaign included rather than a free-to-play shell with microtransactions.
What devices can run Sifu on mobile?
It requires iOS/iPadOS 18.0 or later on iPhone and iPad, is also listed for Apple silicon Macs and Apple Vision Pro, and launches alongside an Android version on Google Play.
Would you pay eight bucks for a console-quality brawler on your phone, or does that price feel steep next to free-to-play alternatives? Let us know in the comments.
Source(s): Gematsu, GamingOnPhone, iPhone in Canada, App Store listing


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