The new year is coming and it’s bringing with it a TON of cozy game potential. Last year, we did a list of 13 cozy games we were excited for in 2025 and I’m pleased as punch to say that this list nearly doubles that one! That means twice the cozy vibes, right?
There’s a lot on this list that I’m making grabby hands at and with how varied these games are, I’m positive that you’ll find at least one game that makes you excited for the year ahead.
If you look at this list and can’t find anything, you’re lying. It’s just simply not possible. I can’t imagine a cozier game list than this one.
We do our best not to highlight games that use Generative AI at any level of development or marketing. At the time of posting, these games have not reported or disclosed using Gen AI. Likewise, all articles are written and edited by humans… as evidenced by our occasional errors.
Cozy Games Coming in 2026!
Wylde Society
Wylde Society, unsurprisingly, comes from the same studio that brought us Wylde Flowers. In this game, you’ll enjoy a period drama setting with an older world charm. Taking on the role of Vivian Wylde, you’ll build, run, and customize a magical boarding school in turn-of-the-century Fairhaven. I adored playing the previous game, so I have high hopes for this new iteration.
Lost and Found Co.
Lost and Found Co. is a hidden object adventure game where you take on the role of Ducky. You’re an intern at a magical startup where the order of business is to find lost things for people. I’m a sucker for hidden object games and this one is coming soon on February 11, 2026.
Thrifty Business
Thrifty Business comes from the same developers who brought us Sticky Business! You’ll set up your own 90s-inspired thrift store and sort through boxes of items to arrange displays. You’ll be able to customize your shop to reflect your personality and help customers with their requests. Having enjoyed the previous game, I’m excited to see how this one differs and plays.
ReStory
ReStory is a story-driven shop management simulator set in mid-2000s Tokyo. You’ll restore items inspired by beloved and iconic electronics. With a branching storyline, your responses and choices with customers will shape the story. I couldn’t be more excited for this one. I love the time period and I love tearing things apart to clean them. It makes goblin-brain happy.
inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories
inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories is a simulation game that takes place in early 1990s Japan. You’ll keep the store stocked and have branching dialogues, making your choices matter. I couldn’t love this more. I’m a sucker for this type of simulation and everything is hand-done rather than being an asset flip with questionable ethics. I can’t wait to get into it.
Starsand Island
Starsand Island is a farming life sim that brings you all the favorites of farming, caring for animals, fishing, and combat. I’m sure this has been on everyone’s radar. The graphics alone make me grabby hands, but I’m equally excited to explore on a longboard and connect with the NPCs.
Pokémon Pokopia
Pokémon Pokopia looks a LOT like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but with Pokémon and I couldn’t be more excited. Play as a ditto in a humanoid form and build up a farm and village to entice Pokémon to stay. Even if this whole game wasn’t completely my jam, I need to be in the presence of Peakychu.
Outbound
Outbound is an open-world survival craft game that you can play solo or with up to 4 players. Start with an empty camper van and build it up through scavenging materials and crafting things yourself. By advancing technology, you can be self-sufficient! This game has been on my radar for a long time and I’m so freaking excited to get out and just explore. My squirrel brain is ready!
The Witch’s Bakery
The Witch’s Bakery is a 2D Adventure game where you run a bakery, explore Paris, and dive into people’s hearts to help heal emotions. The art in this game is so lovely and gives me Studio Ghibli vibes. I also enjoy the fact that you get the ability to explore different places and aspects of the day depending on what time of day it is. This seems like it’s a very heartwarming game.
Moonlit Peaks
Moonlit Peaks is a farming sim where you play as a vampire. You’ll tend to your farm, make potions, master spell-casting, and maybe find romance! I love the idea of this game because it seems like there is so much to do, I’m a sucker for supernatural themes, and there are a whopping 21 romanceable options from a fellow vampire to death himself.
Witchbrook
Witchbrook is an online co-op immersive RPG sim that you can play with up to 4-players. As a new student of Witchbrook College, you’ll explore the city of Mossport, attend classes, complete assignments, make friends, and run a “witch-business.” I’m excited for this game because it seems like it has massive potential for long-term play. There is so much packed into this game and I’m excited to dive into it.
Prize Denied
Prize Denied is a management sim where you are the owner of rigged claw machines. It’s entirely your job to con your customers. You’ll get to build the arcade, design machines, and use sneaky action cards to stop your machines from dispensing prizes. I love the idea of this because it’s a unique viewpoint and it seems like it’d be fun to play this side of a management game.
Paralives
Paralives is a life sim that allows you to create homes, explore an open-world town, create Parafolks, find a job, start a romance, build a family, and more! There’s so much in Paralives that can’t fit in a bubble, but I adore the fact that this game doesn’t use Gen AI and with all the issues with The Sims lately, I’m excited to have a Sims-like that I can actually enjoy and don’t have to worry about what I’m supporting.
Big Walk
Big Walk is an open-world exploration co-op adventure game. You’ll explore a large open world with your friends as you make discoveries, beat puzzles, and overcome challenges. What I love about this game is that it’s simple enough for everyone to enjoy and has a system built in that affects your voice based on where you are and how far away you are. It’s the perfect example of being a silly little guy.
Nivalis
Nivalis is a cyberpunk life sim. You’ll manage several businesses, from restaurants to nightclubs, and use those profits to buy up and decorate apartments. In your off time, you can fish or find love. I can’t get over how much I love the visuals of this game. I’m itching to get into Nivalis and just explore. Everything else seems like a lot of fun, but the atmosphere is what’s calling to me most.
Loftia
Loftia is an MMO farming life sim. Farm, craft, explore, decorate, and create to build up your world. Through community projects and shared neighborhoods, you don’t have to craft alone! This game has a lot going for it and I adore the fact that it’s multiplayer. I’m excited to scavenge for parts and also dress up my own little character, as well as adopt cute companion animals!
Our Life: Now & Forever
Our Life: Now & Forever is a visual novel with romance options that support LGBTQ+ options. You’ll experience a story through four chapters, growing up with your two neighbors. The game has heavy choice options, meaning that the story is yours to create at almost every turn. I’ve only just become aware of this game and the music is already stuck in my head. I love how much freedom you have here and that there’s a ton of replayability just by making different choices.
Gecko Gods
Gecko Gods is an adventure puzzle platformer where you, a tiny Gecko, explore a forgotten land. Solve puzzles and sail between islands to uncover remnants of an ancient civilization. I adore the call to adventure in this one. The fact that you can sail a small boat, scale walls, climb over ceilings, and explore crevices just calls to me in a way that makes me yearn to explore. I have a natural inclination to follow my whims and Gecko Gods seems to be built on that.
Townseek
Townseek is an exploration-trading adventure where you embody an airship. Sail through the skies of Explora, trading with towns, fishing the waters, and collecting artifacts as you search for the lost legacy of Sir Reginal Sharkington. I absolutely love the artstyle in this game and I’m amused that you can change out your airship so you still feel as if you’re embodying something.
Nova Roma
Nova Roma is a strategy-based city builder where you’ll build up Rome to appease Gods and bring a thriving nation to the people inhabiting it. You’ll have to balance the needs of the land with the needs of the people. There’s something so nostalgic in this type of game for me. I used to play a ton of Pharoah and this seems to play a lot like that, but with better graphics and Ancient Rome instead of Ancient Egypt.
Solarpunk
Solarpunk is an open-world survival craft game set in a world of floating islands with technological advancements. Play alone or with friends as you grow food, craft gadgets, explore on your airship, and construct buildings. I like that this is multiplayer because games like this always seem to have necessities that I’m just bad at. So, having a friend that I can trade off duties with seems like a lot of fun rather than trying to slog through it myself.
Collector’s Cove
Collector’s Cove is a farming adventure game that takes place at sea. You’ll see land occasionally by exploring islands, but your farm is on your ship. Find rare crops and forge a strong bond with your animal companion. I’ve had this game on my radar for the longest time and I’m so freaking excited that it’s finally going to be released. I’ll be honest, all I needed was to see the Nessie-like creature and I was hooked.
Portabellows
Portabellows is an exploration adventure 3D platformer where you run around an island finding and baking pie recipes. You’ll collect jellybeans to trade, fill your journal, and more! I’m not much of a platformer, but having the protagonist be an older character is instantly charming and I’m willing to get good at platforming to bake up pies.
Heartopia
Heartopia is an immersive life sim with multiplayer options. Build your dream home, customize your character, fish, cook, garden, and more! It’s hard not to look at this game and get absolutely hyped. I’m constantly needing a new fix to get me through the Animal Crossing drought and Heartopia seems like just the thing to fill that void.
Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times
Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times is an action RPG adventure game where you combine magical runes to solve puzzles. I love that there are multiple ways to solve puzzles so that the player doesn’t feel boxed in. The art style is charming and the game looks like it’d be a fun one just to run around in.
Which of these games are you the most excited for? I find it hard to even begin to choose, honestly. All of these tug at me for many different reasons. Are there any games that I missed that you’re looking forward to?
While you’re here, you can check out our Cozy Games Today tag to see the most recent releases in cozy games on Steam!
Cozy Games Today: It’s the last day of 2025 and there are 5 games to check out to bring in the New Year with! – December 30, 2025
Dressed to the 9’s: 14 of the best cozy games from 2025 that got high marks and left a lasting impression!
Cozy Games Today: 4 new cozy games released on Steam to help get you through the last of the month! – December 30, 2025
10 outta 10: 8 best cozy games from 2025 that I’d recommend time and time again!
Cozy Games Today: 4 new games released on Steam with some cozy potential! – December 29, 2025
