No Man’s Sky Forsaken Update Adds Haunted Salvage and Launches on iOS

No Man’s Sky is adding a new reason to revisit its farthest-flung corners: Forsaken turns exploration toward haunted technology and biological horrors, while bringing the space sandbox to iOS for the first time. The update also adds ship customisation options and practical changes to navigation, base sharing and the game’s interface.

That combination gives Forsaken two distinct draws. Players already travelling the galaxy can pursue a new scavenging loop and build out their ships with unusual parts. Newcomers, meanwhile, can try the opening on a phone or tablet, with full touch controls. Hello Games has also kept its run of quality-of-life work going, with updates aimed at making routine travel and play easier to manage.

Haunted salvage fuels new ship designs

The update sends players looking for rare haunted tech and biological specimens in places where the game’s familiar exploration takes on a more unsettling tone. Derelict hulks, abandoned freighters, planetary dig sites and infested outposts are all among the locations to search. The finds include suspicious mementos that appeal to a group of enigmatic collectors.

Those collectors offer a direct link between exploration and customisation: bring back valuable salvage or desirable specimens, then trade them for new Corvette modules. The available parts include biomechanical exteriors, with designs Hello Games describes as “beautiful and strange.” They give players another way to shape a ship around the game’s eerie, organic side of science fiction.

Corvette options go beyond the hull. Forsaken adds new cockpits and an interior inspired by a distant galaxy, alongside more weapon variants and spacesuit styles. The themed pieces include a Larva Tank helmet and a Grub Cannon multi-tool. They give the update a recognisable visual identity, while the collector system makes those rewards part of the exploration and salvage loop.

There’s a useful design fit here: unusual rewards make remote or hazardous locations more appealing to visit, and the finds can then become visible parts of a player’s ship or character. The source doesn’t specify how many modules or variants are available, so the breadth of the collection will become clearer through play. For now, the update’s emphasis is on mixing creepy discoveries with personalisation.

Less friction across the galaxy

Forsaken also changes some of the everyday systems that shape a long journey. Players can warp to nearby stars without first opening the galactic map, cutting a step out of nearby travel. Star bases can be shared online, and package hauling gives players another activity to take on between explorations.

The Holo Arena, where players battle creatures, gets an overhaul focused on space-based play. The update description doesn’t spell out the full scope of those changes, but it signals that the arena is being adapted for a different setting. Together with package delivery and base sharing, the additions offer more ways to spend time between expeditions without changing the central appeal of charting the galaxy.

Several smaller interface and guidance options round out the update. Minimal HUD mode clears some on-screen information, a radial menu changes how players select weapons, and deep-space guidance has been improved. These features address different points of friction: screen clutter, quick access to equipment and orientation in open space. Their value will depend on individual play styles, but each gives players another way to tailor a session.

No Man’s Sky arrives on iPhone and iPad

The iOS release is the other major shift. It runs on iPhone 11 and later, as well as third-generation iPad Air and later, and requires a 4GB download. Full touch controls are supported, and players can try the opening for free. That gives people a way to sample the game on the devices listed before committing to a longer journey.

Taking a large exploration game to phones and tablets puts particular weight on controls and readability. Forsaken’s new radial weapon menu and Minimal HUD mode are relevant here as well as on other platforms: one offers a different way to reach weapons, while the other reduces screen distractions. The article doesn’t give further details about performance or how the iOS version compares with other editions, so the announced device support, download size and touch controls are the clearest points for players to consider.

Forsaken is live on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, arriving after No Man’s Sky’s ten-year anniversary. The update pairs a fresh, horror-tinged scavenging theme with practical changes and a new way to play on Apple devices. For returning travellers, the haunted finds and Corvette parts give exploration a new target; for players on the move, the iOS edition opens the galaxy on a smaller screen.

Hello Games is also working on its next game, Light No Fire. Forsaken shows that No Man’s Sky continues to receive new systems and ways to play more than a decade after its debut, with the next stretch of its journey now in players’ hands.

Read more No Man’s Sky coverage, alongside PCGamesN’s guides to space games and sandbox games.

Ken Allsop is a news writer.