Space Borders vs Nova Empire
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Space Borders
Command a fleet of starships in a real-time strategy war against hostile aliens. Build your armada, harvest resources, and use tactical formations and superweapons to protect Earth and its colonies from annihilation.
- Real-time strategy gameplay
- Build and customize fleet (15 ship types)
- Resource harvesting and upgrades
- Tactical ship formations
- Superweapons and special powers
- Campaign, Survival, and Sandbox modes
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Command massive star ships in a large-scale war, against a powerful alien force! Put your tactical skills to work and protect humanity and Earth from certain annihilation. Space Borders is a 2D space RTS game, which features lots of gameplay depth, colorful graphics, cool special effects & a great overall atmosphere. _________________ GAMEPLAY • Real-time strategy (RTS) • Build up your fleet by choosing from 15 different types of ships (with unique abilities) • Harvest resources to buy new ships, power-ups and upgrade your mothership • Protect friendly ships and stations from attacks & ambushes • Create custom formations of fighters, destroyers, carriers & support vessels • Coordinate your ships to gain tactical advantages in difficult situations • Use superweapons to destroy large clusters of enemies • Distract the enemy with special powers • and much more... FEATURES • Great visual effects • 3D audio for realistic sound effects (headphones required) • Wide variety of battleships (fighters, carriers, destroyers & more) • Unrestricted camera freedom • Ambient space soundtracks • Training mission • Campaign Mode (8 missions) • Survival Mode (endless play) • Deep Space Mining mode (resource booster) • Sandbox Mode • Conquest Mode (add-on) PLOT In the late 23rd century humans have populated most of Earth. Troubled by the poor quality of life and the excessive amount of damage inflicted on Earth, they decide to plant new colonies on distant planets. The Earth military (EDF or Earth Defense Fleet) is in charge of organizing and carrying out this immense project. During the colonization, the EDF encounters a new life form, which turns out to be extremely hostile. Multiple attacks on EDF key installations, as well as on a research ship, force the EDF to improvise new strategies for a full evacuation. You are a high ranking officer of the EDF, who is in the midst of all the action. Make sure you all get back home to Earth safe & sound. _________________ SPACE BORDERS ONLINE • spaceborders.proboards.com - submit feedback, feature requests & more • facebook.com/spacebordersapp - receive the latest news about Space Borders • http://spaceborders.proboards.com/thread/260/ - Conquest Mode FAQ THANK YOU Thank you all for supporting Space Borders with reviews, ratings, ideas for new features and a lot more. This game is truly powered by its fans! Check out the links above and be part of it. _________________ SPECIAL CREDITS • Space Borders is powered by the Sparrow Framework.
Nova Empire
Engage in epic galactic warfare with players worldwide in this next-generation online space strategy game. Build and customize your space station, design powerful fleets, and form alliances to conquer sectors of space. Experience real-time battles and strategic gameplay with stunning HD graphics.
- Real-time galactic battles
- Alliance system for sector control
- Fleet design and customization
- Space station building
- Recruit elite admirals
- HD graphics and sound
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Enter an epic battle for conquest of the galaxy with players around the world! An action-packed, next-generation online space strategy experience! FEATURES - BATTLE: Wage war with players worldwide for domination of the galaxy on an epic scale! - ALLIANCE: Create a mighty alliance to fight for control of entire sectors of space in a revolutionary new alliance system! - STRATEGY: Combine in alliance legions to form your attack strategy together then strike! - FLEETS: Design fleets with specific weapons and armor to counter your opponent’s strengths! - ADMIRALS: Recruit elite admirals to join your empire and lead your fleets to victory! - BUILD: Create and customize your space station to gain the advantage! - GRAPHICS: Strategy has never looked this good! Command space in spectacular HD! - REAL-TIME: See player fleets moving around the galaxy in real time! Watch as battles develop and make the correct tactical calls to claim victory. - MUSIC: High-quality music and sound production. - MORE: Always adding new features! This galaxy just gets better and better! Nova Empire’s story unfolds week by week, reshaping the galaxy before your eyes Welcome to Nova Empire, a next-generation strategy game. Get your fleets ready and fight for glory! SUPPORT Email us at support@gamebeartech.com Follow us on Facebook to get news and updates: https://www.facebook.com/NovaEmpireGame/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Nova Empire at Free against Space Borders's $1.99. Nova Empire also leads on ratings volume (5.1K vs 167). Space Borders's advantage is review sentiment (91% vs 47%) and rating (4.7 vs 4.3). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Nova Empire is free to download; Space Borders costs $1.99 up front. Space Borders sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Nova Empire sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Space Borders holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nova Empire has 5.1K ratings behind it against 167, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Space Borders's written reviews are positive against 47% of Nova Empire's.
Space Borders ships an update every 2 months, Nova Empire every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Space Borders | Nova Empire |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (167 ratings) — better | 4.3 (5.1K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.9% of reviews — better | 46.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 167 | 5.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 166 MB | 1.8 GB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Amasis Brauch | GameBear Tech |
Customer experience
Space Borders
Nova Empire
User reviews
Space Borders
From 167 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎮 Excellent RTS gameplay mechanics
- 💰 No pay-to-win or microtransactions
- 🎨 Charming 2D graphics and visual style
- ⚙️ Deep fleet customization options
- 📱 Works smoothly on older devices
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes during missions
- 💾 No save/checkpoint system for long missions
- 🎨 Cartoony graphics in newer versions
- 🤖 Poor AI behavior
- ⏱️ Missions are very long without breaks
Nova Empire
From 5.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent graphics and gameplay
- 🔒 Secure and stable connection
- 👍 Engaging alliance and community features
- 🚀 Smooth progression for free-to-play players
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and connection issues
- ⏱️ Extremely long build/upgrade times
- 💰 Aggressive monetization and pay-to-win mechanics
- 🔒 Poor customer support and lack of responsiveness
Bugs and requests
Space Borders
Reported bugs
11 issues- App crashes mid-mission with no progress recovery
- Save file corruption and rollback after updates
- Mission failure without clear cause or visibility
- Resource disappearance between campaign episodes
- Harvester ships launching into enemy fire
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- Ships spinning uncontrollably when near targets
- Occasional lag with action controls
- Controls requiring multiple inputs to register
- Crashes on iOS 11 with iPhone 7
- Game-breaking resource management allowing soft-lock
- End-mission crashes before hyperspace exit
Requested features
19 requests- Multiplayer or online gameplay
- Sequel or major expansion
- Additional campaign missions and episodes
- More ship types and varieties
- More turret and weapon options
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- Larger fleet size capacity
- Cloud save/iCloud synchronization
- Checkpoint system for long missions
- Ability to save and place destroyed ship debris in sandbox
- 3D graphics upgrade
- Larger maps and scaled battles
- Local multiplayer support
- Drones and sentry gun units
- Base building mechanics
- Planet-based gameplay
- Larger hangar sizes
- More varied campaign storylines
- Speed-up options accessible from play screen
- Ability to unlock sandbox mode without beating conquest
Nova Empire
Reported bugs
3 issues- Shields randomly deactivating during wars
- Disappearing ships and lost progress after crashes
- Inability to leave or switch alliances due to glitches
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to transfer resources between alliance members
- More diplomacy options between alliances
- Improved tutorial and onboarding for new players
- Larger and more diverse galaxy to explore
In-app purchases
Space Borders
- Conquest Mode$1.99
Nova Empire
- Tiny Pack$0.99
- Special Pack$1.99
- Bonus Pack$4.99
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- Medium Pack$9.99
- Ultra Pack$14.99
- Large Pack$19.99
- Prime Pack$19.99
- Huge Pack$49.99
- Epic Pack$99.99
- Dominator Pack$99.99
Questions
Is Space Borders free?
Is Nova Empire free?
Which has better reviews, Space Borders or Nova Empire?
Do Space Borders or Nova Empire have ads?
Which is updated more often, Space Borders or Nova Empire?
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