Apple is having an Indie Games Week on the App Store, highlighting a new title in the store each day. By the time of publishing, almost all of the games should be available to pick up on either iPhone or iPad.
The biggest inclusion is No Man’s Sky, although that is the one game of the seven that isn’t available now, and instead, will release on the App Store later this month on October 28. Developer Hello Games’ Sean Murray says that an iOS port of No Man’s Sky has actually been in development for years, but has been held up by the fact that the studio is still releasing free updates that expand the game’s scope. Those expansions would launch, and then the team would have to go in and get them up and running on iPhone and iPad after the fact, having now only caught up.
Those that have been playing the game on other platforms will be able to sync their progress on those devices with their App Store copy. The game can be played with a controller, touch screen controls or a combination of both. Murray says the touch controls are particularly great for when having to navigate the game's various menus and systems.
It seems that the time put into the port was worth it, as No Man’s Sky will run on iPhones and iPads released as far back as 2019. The game will load graphical settings for the optimal experience based on the device the user owns, but those can be manually adjusted.
When asked about any optimizations the game might have for the upcoming, folding iPhone Duo, Murray says that while the team is excited to get their hands on the hardware and see what can be done, the studio’s big focus has been making sure the game runs smoothly on as many mobile Apple devices already in people's hands as possible.
The six other titles that have been announced are SloClap’s Sifu, the stylish martial arts game released for PC and consoles in 2022, Poncle’s Vampire Crawlers, the follow-up to the hit indie title Vampire Survivors, Double Dagger Studio’s open-world adventure game Little Kitty, Big City, the roguelike, deck-builder 9 Kings from Sad Socket, Bippinbits’ tower defense game Dome Keeper, and the management sim Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall from Brave at Knight. Each of these six titles is under $10, with some requiring an upfront purchase and others allowing players to check out the game before buying it.
Over the last few years, Apple has made big strides in the gaming space, with its M-series Macs boasting serious graphical capabilities and its iPhones now supporting AAA titles like Control and Death Stranding. This week, Apple will be hosting a Welcome Home event, which is rumored to reveal several new home-focused products, including the first Apple TV revision in four years. That device is allegedly powered by the company’s A19 chip, the same SoC inside last year’s iPhone 17, meaning those same AAA titles, and No Man’s Sky, could potentially be making their way to Apple TV as well.