No Man’s Sky is coming to the iPhone and iPad

The No Man’s Sky universe is about to get a little bit smaller — but in a good way. Hello Games announced that its long-running sci-fi exploration game will be coming to iOS, with versions for both the iPhone and iPad available starting on October 28th. According to Hello’s Sean Murray, the mobile version of the game is essentially the full No Man’s Sky experience. “I guess I should say this is not No Man’s Sky Lite,” he wrote in a blog post. It includes all of the game’s many, many updates that have come out since launch — like the gigantic Voyagers expansion from last year — and the only major features missing will be multiplayer and the planetary settlements. Murray likens the iOS version to when the game initially launched on the original Switch. “On Switch we have listened to players and built from there, including with a much expanded version on Switch 2,” he says. “Based on feedback and player numbers we will support iOS in a similar way.” The game will be playable on the iPhone 11 and 3rd generation iPad Air and above, and the studio says that the download comes in at a surprisingly scant 5GB. It also has newly-designed touch controls, as well as support for controllers, screen casting, and mouse-and-keyboard on the iPad. Murray also notes that “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.” It’ll be “free to try” at launch, though it’s not clear how much the full version will cost. It’s now been a decade since No Man’s Sky first launched, and the game has changed dramatically since its debut. iOS will be joining a huge list of supported platforms, including Mac, PC, and essentially every modern console, and there’s also a VR version available. Just as significant, Hello has continued to keep the game vibrant with a constant stream of free expansions, including the recent Cosmos update in September, which fleshed out the vast expanse of space with more things to explore.