Wholesome Direct 2026 - Roundup

Right, now that everyone boring has fallen over because of Final Fantasy VII third R-word, it is time for the main event, the 2026 Wholesome Direct. I won’t waste more time. You know what this is; I know what this is; let’s get to it!

First up was Christina Mckinney simulator, i.e, Cozy Lives and Free Lives’ upcoming job simulator, Dressmaker. Which is different from Suzuki Cecil and Fream Factory’s 2021 release under the same title. Draw, design, select the fabric, cut the patterns, and sew the dress together this September with the only game anyone should be interested in that month. I’m not joking; if you looked at me and saw the stupid, unkempt beard and long hair, you’d be 100% surprised that I am so excited for Dressmaker. I genuinely can’t wait! Give it to me now… please?

With that strong start in mind, I might have kept up my very excited mood for the next offering with a demo out now. Malapata Studio, developer behind the wonderful and delightful Camper Van: Make It Home, showed off the paper mini diorama-building story game Book Nook. Said to be releasing this year, I am so excited to get hands-on with another of Malapata Studio’s beautiful little worlds that I fall in love with.

Now that we’ve seen something I was so excited to get a release window for and something I didn’t know I wanted, let’s return to something first shown back in 2023 at the Wholesome Direct. Set to release into 1.0 on August 5th, Fields of Mistria is the very bright, colorful, and I think I’m right in saying 8-bit style graphics that I’ve never gotten into. Something about it just doesn’t click for me, but I’ve got a feeling that Juniper (featured in the trailer) is the goth dommy mommy the internet wants. Shine on, you crazy little diamonds.

Following that, we got our first mention of this year’s shirts. This year, Wholesome teamed with The Yetee for this year’s shirts, the first in a sort of honeydew melon and the second in casual denim. The proceeds for this year’s shirts are set to go to the Transgender Law Center, a trans-led organization campaigning, advocating, and lobbying for LGBT+IA people in the US in particular. A very important cause, particularly right now.

Up next was the wholesome (fitting) MMO in pastel colors, Spirit Crossing. Developed by Spry Fox, this is a life-sim-focused MMO with a bright, colorful, and somewhat cozy-fantastical focus. Certainly not one I’m leaping at the developer to play right now, but for fans of cozy games and MMOs, this is one you’ll love.

I might be leaping over the table for this next one though, because it is adorable, even if the latter half of the trailer isn’t as wholesome as the rest of it would look. Tinkernest is a colony sim where the villagers are (I want to say) adorable little fat hamsters that you just want to snuggle. There is a bit of crafting and automation, but there is a bit of discovery in some dark and less-than-wholesome-looking caves. No release date set, nor a demo in sight just yet.

For fans of that Wednesday show and Stardew Valley, I think I have the perfect game for you next. Releasing on the 7th of July and with a demo out now, Little Chicken and XSEED/Marvelous’ Moonlight Peaks is another life/farming sim with a kinda-chibi version of Mona the Vampire. Good luck getting that reference in the US. Moonlight Peaks will be released on Steam, both Switches, and the Google Play Store.

Next up was the next game from one of the Sable devs, Daniel Fineberg. In The Drift is a narrative 2.5D platformer about sorting people’s internet in space. Not really one that you can talk about so much, as it is very pretty, but no release date, no demo, just the announcement of a beautiful-looking adventure title coming in the future.

After that, we got a highlight of the developers and publishers that make Wholesome possible before moving on to something that, and I won’t lie, I am sick of covering in these showcases. We’ve seen Kitten Cup Studio’s Capy Castaway a few times at this point, I think, and really the relief I got when it was noted that this cozy exploration title is releasing on Steam this year was unrivaled. For those who will sell the title on, Capy Castaway is described as “Untitled Goose Game Meets Spirited Away.” Still don’t care.

Released last year, shop-keeping life sim Discounty showed up again to showcase the latest free expansion – back in my day, we called them updates. The “People or Profit?” expansion has 3 new endings, new characters, 35 new items, online orders, the ability to buy a house, restore the town, and more. The expansion should be available now on PC via Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store, with the “People or Profit?” expansion coming to Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox in July.

I think this next one is just Pokémon Snap, but multiplayer and a bit creepy. Expected to release this year, KMLO’s first game, Dungeon Tourists, is a game where you explore procedurally generated dungeons with up to 4 players, taking pictures of the stuff you find in there. Maybe even throw stuff. No demo for this one, but as I say, it is one that’s supposed to be coming to Steam later this year at some point.

At first, I wasn’t excited about yet another Stardew-like farming/life sim, but then the big adorable bugs showed up, and I was instantly invested. Developed by BEHEMUTT, the developer behind 2023’s Nova Lands and 2018’s Mana Spark, we don’t have a release date for Fourleaf Fields, but there is a playtest currently active on Steam. The big bugs and big vegetables did sell me on this one.

Following that, we got some updates to games published by Wholesome Games Presents, the publishing arm of Wholesome. If you liked Is This Seat Taken?, then it is releasing on PS5 in August. Meanwhile, after years of being in these showcases, we got another look at Usagi Shima: Bunny Island, which finally (please no more after this?) got a release date for its Steam release, sometime in October.

The final of the Wholesome Games Presents bit was the next game from the developer of Minami Lane, Milki Delivery. I wanted to say we’ve seen this one before, but I had wishlisted it earlier this year because it is beautiful and that’s where I remember it from. In Milki Delivery, you have seemingly the only cow for miles, so you milk the cow, deliver around the local area, gather resources and upgrade the barn, and maybe figure out why all the cows have disappeared.

Developer Hidden Folks B.V. have returned with more of their game released back in 2017. No need to guess what the title is. Hidden Folks 2 is a Where’s Wally?-like (I’ll still fight you if you say “Waldo”) but devoid of color to make the titular hidden folk you are trying to find more difficult to find. There isn’t a demo and sadly no release date this year, but we are expected to see it sometime next year, in 2027. One might even think we might see it in the middle of February for… reasons.

I think we’ve seen Tiny Roar’s Lou’s Lagoon in previous showcases, but this year we did get something special. Sadly, it wasn’t the shadow drop – I don’t think anything shadow dropped this year. There is a demo out now, but you don’t have to wait too long for a release date, as the life sim, cozy exploration, and crafting adventure will be released on August 27th. Lou’s Lagoon will also be released on Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and of course, Steam.

I might be sensing a theme when I look at this next one and what opened this year’s show. The next game from the developer behind Some Goodbyes We Made back in 2024, Safe Flight Games, has returned with Beastfolk Barber, a barber version of that Coffee Talk-ish thing where you talk to someone while getting their hair cut. Something that I hate with a burning passion myself, I have nothing to say (shocker!), but as a game? There may be no release date or demo in sight, but I do want Beastfolk Barber right now.

Oddly enough, it is DLC we’ve got up next, but it is from a game I think we’ve seen before; if not here, we’ve seen it elsewhere. Stray Fawn Studio’s 2025 city-builder, The Wandering Village, is about the symbiotic relationship between the inhabitants and the colossus they live on. As shown here, we’re getting a Nessy DLC. “The Last Leviathan” DLC doesn’t have a release date, but does show off a colorful and interesting variation on the colossal dinosaur of the base game. The Wander Village: The Last Leviathan is set to release on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox Series X|S, and both Switches.

From city building to town-building with adorable little frogs living in a woodland area. The next game from the developer of 2018’s Parkitect, Croakwood, is exactly as it says on the tin: You play as little frogs building a community in a woodland area, and not only are you placing buildings, but you can also decorate. I was sold on frog-based town-building. No release date yet, but Croakwood is set to release into early access “this Winter,” with a playtest active right now on Steam.

To quote The Chuckle Brothers (non-American reference): Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. The first game from developer Lifeline Games is under two weeks away from release, but I’ll admit this was the first time I’d heard of Deer & Boy. A 2D side-scrolling adventure game that describes itself as a “poetic cinematic platformer.” Listen, I like Gris and Planet of Lana as much as the next pretentious tosspot on the internet, but I just don’t care. Very pretty, but I won’t be picking it up on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, or PC via Steam and Epic on the 23rd. There is also a demo available now.

I had to go way back in my memory to dig out the name Angela Anaconda, because like everyone who is now having ‘nam flashbacks, I don’t like the art style of the next game. It is not the same art style, but PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE did remind me of that. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE is a “mystery puzzle game” about someone who seems to be neurospicy – described as a game about talking to people you don’t understand. Very queer-coded by the looks of it, totally someone else’s thing but not mine. There is a demo out now for PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE.

I need to stop leaving my drugs around the place. Design and Conjure is a witchy “gentle puzzle” design and tidy-up game with lots of bright colors and nice art. There is also a creative mode for those who just want to muck about. This was more of a showcase to highlight an update to a demo, but there is also a Q4 2026 release window.

Can we call this one a kind of Stardew/Harvest Moon thing? Dragon Shelter is the next game from Wild Forest Studio, the developer behind the “meh” survival strategy game Night is Coming, and is a more management-focused farming sim about dragons. I know this shouldn’t be the thing, but I really don’t like the art style. It looks too much like a cheap Saturday morning cartoon you never liked. Dragon Shelter will be released on everyone’s favorite month, September 24th. There is a demo out now.

I’d love to give this one energy, but I’ve covered it before. Momento is an Unpacking-like and is exactly what you think it is. Lovely and out now, but will be coming to consoles on June 30th.

Another return to the Wholesome Directs, we’re looking once again at Nano Park Studios’ first title, Petal Runner. Very pink, very bright, and very GBA, 90s JRPG pilled. If you’re sold on it, great; if you aren’t, I don’t think anything will sell you on it. Maybe one thing, there is a Tamagotchi in there. There is a demo but no release date, though we do have a release Window.

Bryann, you know what you did! Next up was Komodo Range Studio’s first game, and I might have instantly been sold when I found out what you do in this “cozy narrative adventure.” You run a little Teahouse as a frog in Froggy Brews. I am a simple man of simple pleasures. Demo out now, and a 2027 release window.

Ok, the next thousand words are just going to be “Bush” repeated. Then I will proceed to light those bushes like it was a Hollywood blockbuster, because I am criminally insane. And then, and only then, will I bother to look after the animals in Planet Zoo 2. Yes, a beautiful sequel to the fantastic sandbox, management, simulation game from Frontier, but this time you get flying and aquatic creatures?

A gameplay video was featured in the PC Gaming Show, and I think that might also be a better video. I might throw that in as an extra because it is mentioned here as well. Fantastic, everything I love about gaming: Planet Zoo 2 releases this October 13th for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

From one sequel with a release date to another. Spry Fox’s Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit is a sequel to the 2021 Animal Crossing-ish thing. Though that should be my thing and there are glimmers of things in the art style that I don’t hate, there is just nothing pulling me in quite as much as the comparison. Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit is set to release on July 15th for PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and PC via Steam and Epic. If you can’t wait that long to try it out, there is a demo out now on Steam and Xbox, oddly enough.

On to early access and immediately leaving, Prideful Sloth’s chibi city-building/town management thing, Go-Go Town!, is releasing out of early access after nearly two full years. Go-Go Town! will also be coming to both Switches at some point.

I am annoyed with this next one, because I have already written about it, but it was a nothing trailer that could have done so much if it had not been there before, or noted an exciting announcement was coming here. Loftia, after playtesting for however long it has been, will be releasing “Fall 2026.” It is that cozy pastel MMO thing that looks ok, but little else.

After a year in early access, ACE Entertainment’s farming/life sim, Tales of Seikyu, is finally leaving early access. In fact, it releases tomorrow. Yeah, I’m not annoyed about having to do work and not knowing that far in advance to put in a request. Lovely, adorable, and other superfluous words to tell you how beautiful I find it. I could do without the horrible blue duck woman on the Steam page, but yeah.

One break to shill the shirts again, Turno Dog Games showcases its first game. If you don’t know, I do like art styles quite a bit and value them more than other people’s opinions. Anyway, Spiritstead is a city-building game with a Ghibli art style. Put this in my veins! There is a demo out now, but hopefully you won’t have to wait too long, with a 2026 release window on the horizon.

Listen, I was about to come at this with piss and vinegar, setting fire to relationships and stuff, going for someone’s throat. Then I gasped and choked half to death when I saw the Paralives has a bunch of stuff from Unpacking, and I’m just going to say it: I bottled it. You’re telling me that the best Sims game not made by EA has some of the stuff from Unpacking, a game I adore to the nth degree? Can we give Game of the Year to something that’s only in early access?

So let me get this straight (even in the month of gay): Hyper Games is out here making the Moomintroll games, and they are fine, but we’ve got another developer out here that hasn’t released a game despite another five having been announced making a Moomin game? Developed by Crossbridge Game Studios, Moomin: Midsummer Madness is another point-and-click adventure in that world of Moomin with a slightly different look to it. It is fine, but you don’t have a demo to check it out right now. Moomin: Midsummer Madness is expected to release on Steam and Switch sometime in 2026.

That’s it for the main show; time for my “favorite” bit of the show. Sarcasm is a tool used by writers to imply their hatred and disinterest in doing this bit because it is a nightmare. First up in the montage is Berry Bite’s Humblets, a game where you “explore a charming procedural world” with friends and make new ones with the magical creatures of the world. Also, there is a card combining bit. No demo, release in 2027, and you can follow on Kickstarter.

Yes, expect me to try and be shorter on these in general because I don’t have that sort of time today. I didn’t like the 2.5D side-on, very 2010s Cartoon Network art style, but Spiriki: Tiny Island then revealed itself to be a point-and-click kind of sandbox diorama thing that’s also just a desktop companion. Demo out now, releasing this year.

Why wasn’t Lenja Kaufmann’s next game the full hour? Waterful is a little sandboxy thing where you basically build an ecosystem around water. However, the water mechanic is everything I love about water in games. Sadly, we have to wait until 2027 for more, as there is no demo.

Rubber Bird is Reed Richards but a bird. There really isn’t a better way to put it: You play as a bird with stretchy arms. Wishlist on Steam ahead of its 2027 release, but no demo.

3D co-op mouse adventure Hela: Of Mice & Magic showed up again, and it is exactly what it says it is. Nice, pretty, but if you aren’t sold on it by now, you won’t be by this trailer. Set to release sometime this year on PC and consoles.

Co-op action next with more mice, but this time it is a bit cartoonish. Little Cheese Works is a co-op thing with a story somewhere under it about making cheese for a cartoonish boss? Sure, if it is your type of thing. Set to release on Steam in Q3 2026.

Part of me genuinely thought that TOEM 2 was already out. No. Demo out now, though; you don’t have to wait too long, as Something We Made’s sequel to its 2021 release is set to release in Q3 of 2026.

From that to an adorable game that is releasing in September. Otterly Lost is an adventure game about an otter going about their business collecting rocks. I want it now! There is a demo available, but it is only a September release window as of right now.

After that, we got a puzzle game about a frog that is trying to get around the place, but he lives on little Post-it notes? Walk The Frog has you move different Post-it notes about (if only they could stick, am I right?) with the next piece of Froggo’s journey. It is a weird one to explain, but you don’t have to wait for release because Walk The Frog came out back in May and there is a demo out now. It will also be coming to Switch… in September. Look, I don’t make the dates; I’m just reporting on them.

Another that’s out now is a farming/life sim with a very pixel-y art style that I don’t particularly love; that’s just me, though. Japanese Rural Life Adventure is a farming sim that’s out now about living life slowly in rural Japan. There is a new update, though, so have fun with that.

We saw Sinica’s Tiny Delivery before, and I might have ever so slightly shouted quite loudly (this isn’t a bit; I really did) when the guy kicked the little robot. You play as one of those little delivery robots you get in cities that people are kicking and tipping over, because apparently you can’t do that to cyclists in Edinburgh. Tiny Delivery is adorable and lovely; I can’t wait for more of it in Q3 2026, hopefully.

Another casual diorama thing, Hokko Spaces is a very cute thing with no release date or demo. There is a playtest on Steam though.

The art style on this next one made me feel uncomfortable, like it was developed by a Finnish person who has taken lots of drugs. Habitat Games’ Wild Chorus is a “hand-illustrated musical exploration game” where you are trying to coax the spirits of sound to protect them from silence. Not my thing, but you can wishlist it on Steam for its 2027 release date.

Up next is a very, and I do mean very, pretty visual novel, but it is a visual novel all the same. Developed by InnGamez Studio, Anemorie is stunning with a couple of life-sim-ish mini-games about cooking and feeding a cat, something I already do in real life; I don’t need more of that. Q1 2027 for this one, but there is a demo out now on Steam.

August for this one’s release, hurrah! I want to say we’ve seen Panpipe Studio’s Colorbound before, but it was only a fleeting glimpse of the platformer about color. Pretty, nice-looking to play and all, but the trailer didn’t give us anything more than we already knew. There is a demo out now and a release window of August, so expect a release date in the coming weeks.

Instantly went on the wishlist this one, of course it did; Fossil Quest is an adventure to go find… fossils. It is sort of in the title. But you also create the displays for the museum? The only complaint I have is that the video may have stuttered, and it looked like the frame rate in the first second was less than desirable. If it is smoother on release in Q1 2027, I might rank this one up there with Dressmaker for this showcase. I want it now! No demo, though.

I have one note, and I can’t quote it because of the word that I use. When Danchi Days has been in prior showcases, it has been a pain in the hole to get trailers for because it might as well make my day even harder. Yeah, just like before, Danchi Days is that “comedic-yet-bittersweet story set in 2000s Japan” where you live with your granny, who has dementia. Danchi Days is finally set to get a release this October, and there is a demo out now too. Please have a trailer when I have to put this article together! Huzzah, it did.

Ok, back to things I actually want to talk about without moaning. Shoreside Studio is developing an adorable little game called Pelican Post, and if you’ve been around long enough, you know that I am a fiend for a post office/postal worker game. Pelican Post is a “cozy narrative game about building community by delivering mail to a town of charming characters.” SOLD!!! Give it to me now. Sadly, I have to wait for the release date, with only a 2026 release window, but there is a demo out now.

The final game (thank fu— yes!) is Tree Kingdoms developer Biscuit Factory Games’ next game, Papaya Plaza. It is yet another top-down, colorful, city-building thing. I hate saying it, but it just doesn’t stand out to me anymore. If it appeals to you, great. There is a demo out now, and we have a 2027 release date.

I love doing these showcases, but those montages take far too long to do. I think I made it clear which games are now on my wishlist and which games I might have my editor sending a SWAT team to get a key for, but yeah, it was a good showcase this year. Tell us what games you are most excited for below! As always, you can check out the full showcase linked just under this paragraph too.