As if Hello Games‘ constant work adding dozens upon dozens of free, major updates to the incredible No Man’s Sky over the last decade wasn’t enough, the studio has just announced a massive new milestone for the game – it’s officially coming to iOS.
Starting on October 28, 2026, folks on iPhone and iPad will be able to play a native version of No Man’s Sky that’s fully-featured and optimised for Apple’s mobile ecosystem. With a vast array of control options from touch to controller and even keyboard/mouse, plus some genuinely, technically impressively visuals, this is looking like a solid way to explore the cosmos on the go.
In the below video, managing director, Sean Murray, explains how this project came to be over the last few years and what it means to the team to have a version of the game for iOS. It’s also revealed that No Man’s Sky will be free to try out on Apple’s platform at launch, with pre-orders also available beginning October 12, 2026.
Take a look:
The only caveats that Murray reveals in an accompanying press release are the lack of multiplayer and “Settlements” at launch, but it’s been promised that the game will be continually supported. The Nintendo Switch version saw similar limitations, and the studio has since built on it accordingly, so there’s certainly hope for the same here.
As far as supported devices go, No Man’s Sky will be playable from iPhone 11 onwards, and from the 3rd generation iPad Air and above. You’ll need a bit of free storage to download and install it, but the team has managed to squeeze the entire thing in under 5GB, which is wild!
Here’s Sean’s full statement on the iOS launch:
No Man’s Sky on iOS – Sean Murray
Hello everyone,
A couple of years ago, shortly after we announced that No Man’s Sky was coming to Mac, someone on the team said “I reckon I could get this running on an iPhone”. I honestly didn’t believe it until I played it myself for the first time.
A little like when we brought the game to VR or Nintendo Switch players, it started with a seemingly impossible technical challenge we wanted to disprove.
No Man’s Sky’s universe is generated at run-time which means that the environment you are exploring is being created by the device you’re playing on. There was something magical about seeing that universe being generated on a tiny device.
I guess I should say this is not No Man’s Sky Lite. It is the full universe to explore, complete with over forty major updates, including, COSMOS, which came out just a few weeks ago. It even includes our most ambitious updates like Voyagers from last year, which introduced the ability to build your own big rig starships (and which saw our player numbers jump to their highest levels since launch!).
The only limitations relative to the PC / console version are the same we launched with on Switch, without multiplayer and “settlements” on Day 1. On Switch we have listened to players and built from there, including with a much expanded version on Switch 2. Based on feedback and player numbers we will support iOS in a similar way.
We wanted this to be a moment where we opened up the universe to the widest possible iPhone and iPad audience. A lot of PC and console games, if they can make the jump to mobile at all, are confined to the very latest iOS devices, but we are super-proud that we have been able to make No Man’s Sky playable on iPhone 11 and 3rd generation iPad Air and above.
No Man’s Sky has on planet controls, flight controls, first person, third person, vehicles, mechs… so many ways to play, making usability just as big a challenge as the technical one. We have rebuilt touch controls from the ground up to make No Man’s Sky feel totally at home on mobile.
In sandbox survival games, people can spend a lot of time crafting or in their inventory. I’m super proud of how quick and intuitive No Man’s Sky’s new touch controls feel. On top of that we support controllers, casting to TV, and even mouse and keyboard on iPad.
Generating a universe at runtime on device creates challenges, but it has some great benefits. The file size of No Man’s Sky comes in at under 5GB! It won’t use up all the storage space on your phone and it’s downloadable direct from the App Store in one click.
Perhaps most importantly we’ve put tons of work into battery life and thermodynamics, and we’re super proud that No Man’s Sky can be enjoyed for really long comfortable play sessions.
We’re opening No Man’s Sky for pre-orders on Monday 12th October as part of Apple App Store’s Indie Games Week and will be releasing a few short weeks later on October 28th. In an effort to welcome as many new Travellers to the universe as possible, it’ll be free to try at launch. We can’t wait for players to see it for themselves.
Thank you so much for your continued support of No Man’s Sky and our small team. It really does mean the world to us.
Best wishes.
Sean
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Born into the world of video games through SEGA, and in particular Sonic the Hedgehog, Kieron’s gaming tastes now consist of the latest, shiny AAA thing, an indie darling or two, and an embarrassing number of hours of Balatro.