Hello Games launches No Man's Sky on iPhone and iPad with $19.99 unlock

Hello Games will launch No Man's Sky on iPhone and iPad on October 28, 2026. The game is free to try, unlocking fully for a one-time $19.99 purchase. The port follows nearly three years of development since Apple's 2022 WWDC announcement. Hello Games says future feature support will scale with player numbers.

A premium one-time purchase against mobile's free-to-play norm
No Man's Sky skips subscriptions and IAP for a single $19.99 unlock after a free trial.
Device support reaches back to the 2019 iPhone 11 and third-generation iPad Air.
The build stays under 5GB despite generating full procedural planets on-device.
The purchase includes a decade of free updates, over 40 major releases per Pocket Gamer.

Future investment conditioned on iOS player numbers
Multiplayer is absent on all iOS devices at launch, and planetary settlements require an iPhone 15 Pro or later.
This mirrors the Nintendo Switch launch, where the same two features were missing at first and added later.
Apple's 2022 WWDC announcement covered both Mac and iPad, but Mac shipped in June 2023 while iPad took four more years.
"We are excited to see player feedback on iOS, and will support it appropriately based on how many folks are playing." - Hello Games
What this means
For Publishers & Developers: Scope iOS ports of console catalog titles as feature-gated launches, funding parity only after conversion data arrives.
For UA & Marketing: Set premium-port ROAS targets on trial-to-unlock conversion events for Apple-featured launches.
For Service Vendors: Pitch Metal optimization and touch-control porting to console studios holding older live catalog titles.