How to Get No Man's Sky Ready on iPhone and iPad Before October 28

No Man's Sky is leaving consoles and PC behind for a new destination: the phone in your pocket. Hello Games has confirmed that its procedurally generated space epic launches on iPhone and iPad on October 28, arriving as the headline title of Apple's App Store Indie Games Week. Pre-orders are open now, and the studio says this isn't a cut-down spin-off but the same galaxy PC and console players have been exploring for a decade. Here's what to check, what it costs and how to get your device ready before launch day.

What's Actually Launching on October 28

Hello Games says the iOS release carries over a decade of free content updates rather than shipping as a slimmed-down port. That includes the recent Cosmos update, which lets players claim and customize their own space stations, along with Voyagers and the dozens of expeditions, building systems and exploration overhauls released since 2016. Studio founder Sean Murray has been candid about how surprising the project was even to his own team.

"I honestly didn't believe it until I played it myself for the first time," Sean Murray, co-founder and director of Hello Games, said of seeing the full game running on a phone.

The studio says the galaxy is still generated at runtime on the device itself, the same approach used on PC and console, rather than streamed from a server. According to Hello Games, a lot of the development effort went into battery life and thermal management so long sessions don't turn a phone into a hand warmer.

Check Your Device Before You Pre-Order

Not every iPhone or iPad can run it, so confirm your hardware before you tap pre-order on the App Store listing. The baseline requirement is an A12 Bionic chip or newer, which Hello Games translates to iPhone 11 and later, or a third-generation iPad Air and later, running iOS or iPadOS 26. If your device predates that chip, the App Store simply won't offer the download.

There's a second tier to watch for if you care about base-building: Planetary Settlements, the colony-management feature added to the main game a couple of years ago, are currently limited to iPhone 15 Pro and newer. Everyone else gets the full exploration, combat, trading and multi-planet survival loop, just without that one system at launch. The install itself is modest by modern standards, listed on the App Store at under 4GB, so storage shouldn't be the limiting factor for most players.

Free Trial or the $19.99 Unlock

No Man's Sky on iOS follows a try-before-you-buy model. The app is free to download, and it opens with a playable trial covering the start of the game, including your first steps off your crashed starship and early repairs. Deciding whether to continue costs a one-time payment of $19.99 for the full unlock, Apple's listing confirms, with no subscription and no second purchase required afterward.

That structure makes the pre-order period useful even if you're unsure: reserving now through the App Store just queues the download for October 28, it doesn't charge you for the full game, so there's no risk in getting it lined up ahead of launch day and deciding after you've flown your first starship whether the unlock is worth it.

Setting Up Touch, Controller or Keyboard and Mouse

Hello Games rebuilt the control scheme from scratch for touchscreens rather than mapping a controller layout onto virtual buttons. On-screen sticks handle movement and camera, with context-sensitive prompts for mining, building and combat that the studio says were redesigned specifically around thumbs rather than triggers.

If touch isn't your preference, the release supports physical controllers paired over Bluetooth, giving you the same control layout as the PlayStation and Xbox versions. On iPad specifically, it also supports a mouse and keyboard, which is worth setting up before your first play session if you're used to the PC control scheme. The game can also cast to a TV, so an iPad or iPhone can effectively drive a living-room session if you'd rather not play on a small screen.

“I honestly didn't believe it until I played it myself for the first time.”Sean Murray, co-founder and director, Hello Games

What's Missing at Launch, and Why

Two features from the full game are absent when No Man's Sky arrives on iOS: multiplayer and, for most devices, Planetary Settlements. Hello Games has framed this the same way it handled the original Nintendo Switch launch, which also shipped without those systems before they were added later based on how the platform performed. The studio says it plans to expand iOS support "based on feedback and player numbers," which in practice means there's no committed date for multiplayer to arrive, only a stated intention to add it if the mobile audience sticks around.

Worth noting for anyone coming from another platform: Hello Games has not confirmed cross-save or cross-play support between iOS and the existing PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and Steam Deck versions. Treat your iOS save as its own standalone galaxy until the studio says otherwise, rather than assuming a console or PC save will carry over.

Getting the Most Out of Day One

If you're pre-ordering now, a few practical steps will save you time on October 28. Confirm your device sits on the supported list rather than relying on memory of which iPhone you own, since the A12 Bionic cutoff spans several generations. Pair any controller you intend to use ahead of time through iOS Bluetooth settings so it's ready the moment the app installs. And if you're a longtime player curious how your existing hardware stacks up against what Hello Games has shipped on console and PC, the studio's own No Man's Sky site and the Hello Games newsroom are the most reliable places to track any pre-launch patches between now and release.

For newcomers, the free trial is the simplest way to judge whether the full unlock is worth it: it covers enough of the opening hours to see the crafting loop, your first jump to space and the beginning of the main story thread before you have to decide. Given that the galaxy is generated on-device rather than downloaded in chunks, there's effectively no difference in scope between what trial players see and what full owners get access to later, just how far they're allowed to go before the paywall appears.