Comparison

Starbase Orion vs Out There

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Starbase Orion

Engage in a deep 4X space strategy experience. Explore, expand, and conquer the galaxy by colonizing worlds, designing ships, and outmaneuvering opponents in turn-based combat. Features a robust AI and multiplayer options for galactic domination.

Highlights
  • Explore new worlds
  • Expand your empire
  • Exterminate rivals
  • Design custom ships
  • Engage in turn-based combat
  • Diplomacy and espionage
  • Multiplayer via GameCenter
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

"The best 4X game currently available for mobile" - PocketTactics.com "This one is geek heaven" - AppAdvice.com "Master of Orion in Your Pocket” - GamePro.com "Starbase Orion has an epic-feeling" - TouchArcade.com "Starbase Orion is here, and it's glorious." - TUAW.com Explore. Expand. Exterminate. Can you defeat your friends and become the ruler of the galaxy? Starbase Orion is an old-school 4X space strategy game that draws inspiration from titles such as Master of Orion and Galactic Civilizations. Lead your empire from the birth of its space age; colonize new worlds, explore new horizons, and discover other players attempting to do the same. It is a race to the stars where only one empire can declare victory over the galaxy. New to 4X Strategy Games? No Problem Starbase Orion includes a hand tailored tutorial mission perfect for those new to the genre. It features high-quality voice acting provided by the very talented Maurice Thomas. Aged like a Fine Wine With nearly a five year life span the dedicated community of Starbase Orion players and the developer have produced twenty-four fantastic updates. Each update has introduced new features and player suggested functionality to make the game better, more strategic, and more immersive. Strong Single-Player Experience Compete against a battle-tested artificial intelligence. Our AI was derived from our entry into to 2010 Google AI contest, where it placed in the top 15% of thousands of competing intelligences. Go head-to-head against a single AI opponent, or ramp up the carnage with a 4 way free-for-all. GameCenter Multiplayer Turn-Based Games Starbase Orion was designed to provide a fantastic multiplayer experience. Launch the game, sign into GameCenter, and start a new multiplayer game. No need to coordinate play times or seek out other players. Just go play, when you want and on your terms. Choose Your Race, Or Create Your Own There are five uniques races included; Human, Draske, Vass, Cyban, and Isather. You can also create your own custom race by picking and choosing between different race characteristics. Intense Space Combat Design your ships from a variety of weapons, hull, and systems. Send them into battle against the enemy. Give them orders, then watch the battle in unfold as they duke it out in the dark expanses of space. Diplomacy, Espionage, Free Agents Direct confrontations not your cup of tea? Negotiate your way to victory through diplomatic endeavors. Confound your enemies with an army of spies. Contract one of the many power and unique leaders to help you to victory. iCloud Support Starbase Orion is built from the ground up for iOS 5. It supports iCloud so that your saved games are instantly available on all of your devices. Start a game at home on your iPad, then pick it up again the next day on your iPhone. Simple, streamlined, fantastic. Universal - You Bought the Cool Gadgets, Go Play on Them Full support for iPad, iPhone, iPod, standard and Retina displays. Play when you want, where you want. Guaranteed Pricing While it is quite common for apps to become “free for a day”, Starbase Orion is not one of those apps. The standard price for Starbase Orion is $7.99 USD; it will never run a “free for a day” campaign. Tens of thousands of players have placed their confidence in us by purchasing Starbase Orion, and this is our guarantee to you. Guaranteed Free Updates We have a lot more planned for Starbase Orion. We plan to release all updates for free, without any hidden fees or In-App Purchases.

About

Out There

Embark on a challenging space survival adventure where you must manage resources, explore a procedurally generated galaxy, and unravel a compelling narrative. Encounter alien species and make critical choices to determine the fate of humanity.

Highlights
  • Procedurally generated galaxy exploration
  • Resource management and crafting
  • Handwritten narrative adventures
  • Multiple endings
  • Discover and upgrade spaceships
  • Engage with alien life
Features
Read full description

5/5 - TouchArcade 5/5 - PocketTactics 9/10 'Gold Award' - PocketGamer Grand Prize - DevGAMM Moscow 2015 Excellence in Narrative - DevGAMM 2015 Best Game Design Award - Casual Connect EE 2014 Excellence In Narrative Finalist - IMGA 2015 Best iPhone and iPad Games of 2014 - TouchArcade Best Mobile Games of 2014 - Game Informer Best Mobile Games of 2014 - Gamezebo WARNING : this game is hard ! Check the forum for strategy tips : http://outthere.forumactif.org/ You are an astronaut awaking from cryonics not in the solar system, but... out there... in a far and unknown place of the galaxy. In Out There, you will have to survive, tinkering your ship with what you can gather drifting in the void, and spot garden planets to refill your oxygen supply. Space is an hostile place ; dangerous and mysterious adventures will mark each step of your travel. You will not only meet intelligent species that won’t care about you, but also deal with ancient powers linked to your destiny and the fate of mankind itself. Survival and understanding of what is really at stake in the galaxy is the core of what Out There has to offer. Music by award-winning composer Siddhartha Barnhoorn (Antichamber, The Stanley Parable) • Game Center : 59 achievements, leaderboard • A dark and melancholic, hard sci-fi adventure • Explore a freshly procedurally-generated galaxy every new game • 350+ multiple choices handwritten game book adventures • Epic main storyline with 4 different endings • 10 spaceships with different specs to discover • Crafting system with 20 alien technologies built from 15 materials • Engage with alien life forms and learn their language • No combat ! It’s you against the environment • Eerie score by award-winning composer Siddartha Barnhoom (Antichamber, The Stanley Parable) • Fantastic pulp comics graphics • High replay value

Screenshots

Starbase Orion4 screens
Out There4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Starbase Orion at 4.7 against Out There's 4.4. Starbase Orion also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 69%). Out There's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $7.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Starbase Orion costs $7.99 and Out There $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Starbase Orion holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 329 and 377 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Starbase Orion's written reviews are positive against 69% of Out There's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, Out There every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Starbase Orion versus Out There: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarbase OrionOut There
Price$7.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.7 (329 ratings) — better4.4 (377 ratings)
Positive reviews81.3% of reviews — better69.3% of reviews
Number of ratings329377 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#186 — better#198
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.2 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size239 MB212 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperChimera Software, LLCStoreRider

Customer experience

Starbase Orion

All ratings329 ratings
Positive91.2%
Neutral4.9%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews316 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative11.7%

Out There

All ratings373 ratings
Positive83.6%
Neutral5.9%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews374 reviews
Positive69.3%
Neutral12.0%
Negative18.7%

User reviews

Starbase Orion

From 329 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent 4x strategy game
  • 👍 Faithful recreation of Master of Orion
  • 🚀 Continuously updated with new features
  • 👍 Vibrant player community
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay and intuitive controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🔍 Limited diplomacy and foreign relations
  • 🔍 Automated combat lacks depth
  • 🔍 Repetitive late-game experience
  • 🔍 Outdated visuals

Out There

From 377 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Well-made game
  • 🌟 Immersive atmosphere
  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and music
  • 📚 Engaging story and writing
  • 🔁 High replayability

Room to improve

  • 🎲 Heavily reliant on RNG
  • 🤯 Extremely difficult, even on easy mode
  • 🔁 Repetitive gameplay
  • 🧭 Lack of clear progression/strategy
  • 🔍 Unclear mechanics

Bugs and requests

Starbase Orion

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes and save file corruption
  • UI issues with overlapping text and unresponsive controls
  • Multiplayer matchmaking and connectivity problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • More ship classes and customization options
  • Expanded tech tree and research system
  • Deeper diplomacy and espionage mechanics
  • Manual control of ship combat
  • Improved end-game content and victory conditions

Out There

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes and performance issues on newer devices
  • Bugs causing lost progress or broken mechanics

Requested features

4 requests
  • Difficulty settings
  • Save/load functionality
  • More varied gameplay and content
  • Optimization for newer devices

In-app purchases

None

Starbase Orion

No in-app purchases

None

Out There

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Starbase Orion free?
Starbase Orion costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Out There free?
Out There costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Starbase Orion or Out There?
Starbase Orion is rated higher. Starbase Orion averages 4.7 out of 5 from 329 ratings, while Out There averages 4.4 from 377 ratings.
Do Starbase Orion or Out There have ads?
Neither Starbase Orion nor Out There shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starbase Orion or Out There?
Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, and Out There every 2 months. Most recently, Starbase Orion was updated on November 6, 2026 and Out There on November 6, 2026.
Which is more popular, Starbase Orion or Out There?
Starbase Orion currently peaks at #186 in the App Store charts, and Out There at #198. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons