No Man’s Sky leads Apple’s new iPhone and iPad game wave
Apple’s Indie Games Week brings seven acclaimed titles to iPhone and iPad, with No Man’s Sky scheduled for October 28.
Apple has turned this week into a small showcase for indie games on iPhone and iPad, with seven titles either available to download or open for pre-order. The line-up includes Sifu, Vampire Crawlers, Little Kitty, Big City, 9 Kings, Dome Keeper, Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall and No Man’s Sky.12
No Man’s Sky is the headline arrival
Hello Games’ space exploration game is the biggest name in the group, but it is not available on Apple’s mobile devices just yet. No Man’s Sky is scheduled to launch on iPhone and iPad on October 28, with every major content expansion included, according to Apple.1
The mobile version will support iPhone 11 and newer models, alongside third-generation iPad Air tablets and newer devices. Players can use touch controls or a controller on iPhone, while iPad players can also use a keyboard and mouse.2
Apple says the game will include the recent Cosmos update, including the ability to command personal space stations. That makes this more than a straight port of the 2016 release: it is a decade’s worth of Hello Games’ post-launch expansion arriving in one mobile package.
Seven games, one App Store spotlight
The rest of the selection is available now on the App Store, with prices ranging from $5 to $20 in the US. Sifu brings its close-quarters kung fu combat to both devices with touch controls, a reworked camera and controller support. Vampire Crawlers offers a card-battling spin on the Vampire Survivors formula, while Little Kitty, Big City turns its open-world exploration into a compact mobile release.12
The remaining games cover a similarly broad spread: 9 Kings is a kingdom-building strategy game, Dome Keeper combines mining with survival, and Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall centres on difficult decisions in a struggling realm. Apple says No Man’s Sky, 9 Kings, Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall and Little Kitty, Big City all offer free trials.1
None of the seven is included with Apple Arcade. Instead, Apple is presenting the games through Indie Games Week, a promotion that will feature daily spotlights and curated collections across the App Store.1
Our opinion
Apple’s strongest move here is choosing games that make the mobile platform feel less like a home for quick distractions and more like a credible second home for substantial indie releases. No Man’s Sky is the obvious attention-grabber, but the broader selection matters more: it gives players several different reasons to look beyond Apple Arcade’s subscription catalogue.
The October 28 launch date also keeps expectations honest. Apple is promoting No Man’s Sky now, but players still have to wait for the actual release, while the other six games can be played immediately. That distinction makes the line-up more useful than a vague promise of games “coming soon”.