No Man's Sky on iPhone and iPad: Cross-Save, Multiplayer, Price and Requirements
Does No Man's Sky on iPhone have cross-save or crossplay? What it costs, which iPhones and iPads run it, and what's missing from the iOS version.
No Man's Sky came to iPhone and iPad on 28 October, and Hello Games is clear that it isn't a cut-down port: it's the full game with ten years of updates, up to and including this autumn's Cosmos. But a few things are missing, and the questions players ask most (can I bring my save over, can I play with friends) have less obvious answers. Here's what Hello Games and the App Store listing actually say.
How much does No Man's Sky cost on iPhone?
It's free to download and free to try: you can play the beginning of the game without paying. A one-time in-app purchase called Full Game Unlock opens up the rest, priced at $19.99 in the US and £19.99 in the UK on the App Store. It isn't a subscription and it isn't part of Apple Arcade.
Hello Games hasn't announced a free unlock or discount for people who already own the game on PC, console or Mac.
Does No Man's Sky on iOS have cross-save?
Not with PC or consoles, as things stand. Hello Games' cross-save works across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and Mac, and its terms say it needs a Steam, PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo account linked to your Hello Games ID. An Apple account isn't on that list, and Hello Games hasn't said cross-save is coming to iOS.
What the iOS version does have is iCloud sync, so your save follows you between your own iPhone and iPad. Hello Games' help centre has a page on fixing iCloud sync problems, which usually come down to iCloud storage being full.
Does No Man's Sky on iPhone have multiplayer or crossplay?
No. Hello Games says multiplayer isn't supported on iOS, so there's no co-op and no crossplay with other platforms. Discoveries you upload still go onto the shared map of the universe that every player sees, as the App Store listing describes.
Hello Games compares this to the first Switch version, which also launched with limits and was built up from player feedback. It says it will support iOS "appropriately based on how many folks are playing", which isn't a promise of multiplayer later.
What else is missing?
Planetary Settlements only work on iPhone 15 Pro and newer. On older devices the rest of the game is there.
Which iPhones and iPads can run No Man's Sky?
Hello Games' official minimum, from the App Store listing:
- iPhone: iPhone 11 or later
- iPad: iPad mini (6th generation), iPad Air (4th generation), iPad (10th generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) or later
- Chip: Apple A12 or later, with at least 4GB of RAM
- Software: iOS 26 or later
- Storage: 4GB free (the download is about 3.8GB)
The App Store will also let you install it on an iPhone XS or XR, which use the same A12 chip, but those are below Hello Games' stated minimum. Hello Games' own announcement also mentions the 3rd-generation iPad Air, a model the App Store's spec list leaves out, so if you're on an older iPad, try the free part before buying.
Can I use a controller or keyboard?
Yes. Hello Games rebuilt the touch controls from scratch for mobile, and the game also supports controllers, casting to a TV, and mouse and keyboard on iPad. It also has Game Center achievements.
Has it been updated since launch?
Yes. Update 7.13, released on 4 November, fixed a batch of iOS issues: missing buttons when piloting an Exocraft, low-resolution button prompts, overlapping text and starship handling with the thumbstick controls. It also added tap-to-auto-run and better haptic feedback at higher frame rates.
Which languages does it support?
English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
