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Daggerless Indie Dev Dispatch — Week of November 2, 2026
No Man’s Sky arrived on iOS the same day as a Halloween update, Phantom Blade Zero sold more than four million in its first 72 hours, and Rockstar released 12 new GTA 6 screenshots through Edge magazine three weeks before the November 19 date. Nintendo ran a 15-minute Indie World on October 28. Probably Stolen passed half a million copies two days after launch.
No Man’s Sky
Hello Games shipped No Man’s Sky to iPhone and iPad on October 28 with a download under 5GB that runs back to the iPhone 11, multiplayer and settlements left out at launch, and a free-to-try model that unlocks the full game (ten years of updates through Cosmos) for $19.99. The same day the studio released Forsaken, a Halloween update with abandoned hulks and new creatures, on every platform including iOS. A decade after launch, the game that once disappointed people is now the one that fits on a phone.
Larger industry news
A new studio’s first game cleared four million before most people finished the tutorial. S-Game’s Phantom Blade Zero launched October 29 on PS5 and PC and sold more than four million copies in 72 hours, a number that includes the China-exclusive WeGame launcher, while Steam peaked at 833,921 concurrent, the highest single-player launch peak of the year on the platform. English reviews are Very Positive at around 86 percent and Simplified Chinese reviews sit at Mostly Positive around 79 percent at the $59.99 price.
The rest
Nintendo’s Indie World on October 28 ran 15 minutes and showed 23 games for Switch and Switch 2, with Witchbrook, the wizarding school life sim, dated January 28, Sword of the Sea arriving on Switch 2 the next day, and Tenjutsu, a combat roguelike from a Dead Cells designer, coming to Switch 2 in 2027.
Questing Goose Studio’s cyberpunk shopkeeper sim opened on Steam October 28, sold 200,000 copies in the first few hours, reached 350,000 in the first day, and hit half a million two days later, with Steam reviews at 96 percent positive from roughly 3,000 reviews and a concurrent peak past 150,000.
Rockstar released 12 new GTA 6 screenshots and gameplay details through the November issue of Edge magazine on October 29, covering Vice City’s waterfront, rural stretches of Leonida, and one underwater scene. Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson told the magazine the game is ready and the November 19 date is holding. A fake delay post circulated on X the same week and was not confirmed.
Schell Games announced a second round of layoffs this year, Sucker Punch reportedly cut 24 people after Ghost of Yōtei: Complete Edition, and Nacon confirmed the closures of Spiders and Midgar Studio as part of ongoing restructuring.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake launches Thursday on Switch 2. Grand Theft Auto VI is still November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series.
Out this week
- Gravhounds entered Early Access today and is on Game Pass.
- ArcheAge Chronicles enters Early Access tomorrow.
- Loftia launches tomorrow on PC.
- Theos: Cities of Myth launches November 4 on PC.
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is November 5 on Switch 2.
Industry Notes
- Borderlands has passed 100 million copies sold across the series.
- id Software co-head said the studio is “doing great” after losing about half its staff in recent Xbox cuts.
- Bloodborne reportedly sold a quarter of a million copies this year alone.
- Xbox cloud gaming limits start at $3.99 for 10 hours.
Free Tools & Assets
- Kenney.nl — Tiny City and the Shape 2D to 3D application are current. All-in-1 is coming to Steam.
- itch.io free assets and OpenGameArt.
- Epic Fab limited-time free through November 3: Modular Post Apocalyptic Desert by JustB Studios, Celebrations All In One VFX Bundle by Pautinka, Armored Stone Golem by Alexander Lenski. Claim at fab.com/limited-time-free.
Daggerless Verdict
Hello Games put ten years of updates on an iPhone the same week a new studio’s first game cleared four million in three days. Both are single-player. One is a decade-old space game that keeps shipping. The other is a character action game that arrived with a 66-day timer and a body count. Rockstar dropped 12 new screenshots three weeks before GTA 6. The chart this week did not need a live-service pitch.
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