Hello Games announced on October 12, 2026 that No Man's Sky is coming to iPhone and iPad on October 28, with pre-orders open on the App Store. You can play the beginning for free, and a one-time $19.99 purchase unlocks the full game. Also in this roundup: the Napoleonic soulslike Valor Mortis launches on October 13 on PC, PS5, Xbox and Game Pass, and Creative Assembly releases Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition on PC the same day.
No Man's Sky comes to iPhone and iPad on October 28
In a post on the official No Man's Sky site, Hello Games says the iOS version is the full universe, with more than forty major updates up to the recent Cosmos update. "This is not No Man's Sky Lite," the studio writes. Pre-orders opened as part of the App Store's Indie Games Week.
What it means for you:
- Price: the US App Store listing is a free download that lets you play the beginning of the game. A one-time Full Game Unlock costs $19.99 and, according to the listing, includes 10 years of updates.
- Date: Hello Games gives October 28. The US App Store listing shows "Expected Oct 29, 2026" instead.
- Devices: Hello Games says it runs on iPhone 11 and later and on the third-generation iPad Air and later. The listing requires iOS 26 or iPadOS 26.
- Limits: Planetary Settlements need an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, and there is no multiplayer.
- Controls and size: touch controls rebuilt from scratch, plus controller support, casting to a TV, and mouse and keyboard on iPad. The download is 3.8 GB.
Our take: A full No Man's Sky with a free opening is an easy way to check how it runs on your phone before you pay. If you want to play with friends, keep in mind that multiplayer is missing on iOS.
Update (October 29, 2026): No Man's Sky went live on the App Store on October 28, the date Hello Games had given, and it launched with the new Forsaken update included. The App Store listing is still a free download with a one-time $19.99 Full Game Unlock.
Valor Mortis launches October 13 on PC, PS5, Xbox and Game Pass
Valor Mortis, a first-person soulslike from Ghostrunner studio One More Level, launches at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on October 13, according to publisher Lyrical Games' launch announcement. You play a resurrected soldier of Napoleon's army fighting plague monsters across occupied Eastern Europe.
What it means for you:
- Price: $39.99 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam, or $59.99 for the Deluxe Edition, which adds cosmetic packs and a major story DLC planned for 2027.
- Game Pass: Xbox Wire lists it as a day-one game for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, on console, PC, handheld and cloud.
- PC specs: the Steam page now asks for at least a Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i5‑10600K, an RX 5600 XT or GTX 1660 Ti, 16 GB of RAM and 60 GB on an SSD, for 30 fps at 1080p on Low with upscaling. Rock Paper Shotgun reports that this is lower than the page listed in June, and that the developer has not formally announced the change.
- Later: a New Game+ mode is due in the fourth quarter of 2026, along with more free updates.
Our take: If you have Game Pass, trying it costs nothing extra, which suits a demanding genre that not everyone enjoys. On PC, the lowered minimum specs still rely on upscaling, so expect to tweak settings on older cards.
Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition launches October 13 on PC
Sega and Creative Assembly announced the Complete Edition in September, and it releases on October 13 at 8 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. ET on Steam, the Epic Games Store, the Microsoft Store and GOG, according to Creative Assembly's official FAQ. It bundles the original strategy game with its Rise of the Samurai and Fall of the Samurai campaigns and updates it for modern PCs.
What it means for you:
- Price: $39.99.
- Already own Shogun 2? You get the original game's legacy DLC for free, and a 75% loyalty discount on the Complete Edition until November 12 at 8 a.m. PT.
- What's new: more than 50 newly playable factions, a 64-bit upgrade, 1440p and 4K UI scaling, ultrawide support, Japanese and Chinese voice and text, and built-in mod support through Mod.io.
- Store differences: on Steam, the Complete Edition also includes the original Shogun 2 and its DLC, except the Blood Pack. The other stores sell the Complete Edition only.
- Mods: mods made for the original game won't work in the Complete Edition, but the original stays playable with them.
Update (October 17, 2026): Two days after launch, Sega is pulling the Complete Edition from sale. In an October 15 statement, Sega and Creative Assembly said it "has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards." They are working with platform holders to take it off sale temporarily and to bring back the original game while they investigate the problems. Existing owners can still access and play the Complete Edition, and no return date has been given. On October 17, the Steam store was selling the original Total War: Shogun 2 for $29.99.
Our take: For existing owners, the 75% discount makes this a cheap upgrade to one of the best-loved Total War games. If you rely on old mods, keep playing the original until the Mod.io scene catches up.