Hello Games is bringing "No Man's Sky" to iOS and iPadOS, with preorders for the mobile version opening ahead of its October 28 release date. The sci-fi adventure, first released in August 2016 and only arriving on Mac in June 2023, is finally coming to iPhone and iPad more than a decade after its debut.
The game is set in a procedurally generated universe filled with countless solar systems, planets, and space stations. Players start on the outer rim, explore unique planets, build bases, and upgrade their ships as they try to reach the center of the universe. The mobile release is not a cut-down version. It offers the same full universe players on other platforms enjoy, including recent updates such as COSMOS and the 2025 Voyagers update, which introduced customizable big-rig starships.
There are some small concessions, in line with the Nintendo Switch version, following player feedback. Multiplayer and "settlements" are not available on Day 1, and the same will be true on iOS at launch. The release also introduces a new set of touch controls for mobile displays. Players can still use controllers, a mouse and keyboard on iPad, or cast to a television for big-screen play. Despite the scale of the universe, the developers say installation is less than 5 gigabytes.
The move has been years in the making. Hello Games' work on Metal 3 and MetalFX, announced at WWDC 2022, improved performance on Mac. In a June 2023 interview, Sean Murray said the studio always considers iOS and Mac, and he was enthusiastic about the App Store's reach to new users. He also noted that developing for iPad requires considering a new user interface and battery life.
Source: AppleInsider · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing