The Wholesome Direct 2026 arrived jam-packed with brand new wholesome, delightful, cosy games experiences from around the world. If you love your games with more casual gameplay, puzzles, exploration, adventure or management gameplay, there was absolutely something for you here.
Australian and New Zealand-based game developers were well-represented during this year’s show, with a handful of new and upcoming games from across both countries featured prominently – including Momento, Loftia, Go-Go Town!, Unpacking, Design and Conjure, and more.
Beyond these, there were plenty of other new titles to add to your wishlist.
Here’s the full roundup of games featured at Wholesome Direct 2026.
Wholesome Direct 2026: news roundup – quick links
Dressmaker
Dressmaker (Cozy Lives) is a novel simulation game where you’re creating dresses for an array of clients. You’ll pick up pens, paper, scissors and fabric, and spend your time crafting unique, flowing dresses for all manner of clients. As announced during Wholesome Direct 2026, this game is set to launch in September.
Book Nook
Book Nook (Malapata Studio) is a slow-moving simulator game where you sit down to create your very own cosy book nook – no timer, no pressure. A cinematic trailer confirmed a new demo is now available on Steam.
Fields of Mistria
During Wholesome Direct 2026, the Fields of Mistria team (NPC Studio) confirmed the game is finally ready to launch out of early access! After years in development, players will finally be able to enjoy the ‘complete’ version of the game when it arrives by update on 5 August.
Spirit Crossing
Spirit Crossing (Spry Fox) got a new trailer during the show revealing a new look at its cosy co-op MMO gameplay, while also confirming a playtest is now live on Steam. Hop in to explore a bright world filled with friends, fun activities and the chance to decorate your own spot of this world.
Tinkernest
Tinkernest (Afterwalk) got its world premiere trailer during Wholesome Direct 2026. This upcoming game is a ‘crafting colony sim’ where you spend your time crafting and experimenting with items alongside a crew of animal villagers.
Moonlight Peaks
Moonlight Peaks (Little Chicken) got a new trailer confirming a demo is on the way, to inspire some excitement ahead of the game’s launch on 7 July. In this game, you play a vampire living and working in the gothic town of Moonlight Peaks, where most people look scary but are actually fluffy and lovely inside.
In The Drift
In The Drift (Daniel Fineberg and Friends) got its world premiere trailer during Wholesome Direct 2026. In this narrative game about ‘fixing the internet in space,’ you play a young woman who’s starting her new job as a telecoms engineer.
Capy Castaway
Capy Castaway (Kitten Cup Studio) is a lovely game starring an intrepid capybara and all its friends. As gameplay progresses, you’ll meet a roster of new animal friends, while also learning how to solve puzzles alongside a clever crow. This game is set to release sometime in 2026 and a demo is arriving shortly.
Discounty
Discounty (Crinkle Cut Games) turned up during the Wholesome Direct 2026 with a surprise announcement: it’s getting brand new DLC introducing new endings, more items, self-checkout machines, upgraded housing, and much more. The best news is the DLC is free, and it’s available now for everyone who already owns the base game.
Dungeon Tourists
Dungeon Tourists (KMLO) is a very cute-looking multiplayer photography simulator and rail shooter that takes inspiration from Pokémon Snap. As you travel underground worlds, you’ll be taking snaps alongside your friends, with everyone working together to solve puzzles and get the best shots possible.
Fourleaf Fields
Fourleaf Fields (Behemutt) is a delightful-looking farming simulator where you’re actually living in a too-large world. You’re a tiny being, and crops you grow are huge. It’s all a bit The Borrowers, with that same magical sense of scale. A new gameplay trailer showed off during Wholesome Direct 2026 revealed more of what to expect while confirming a playtest is in the works.
Is This Seat Taken?
Popular puzzle game Is This Seat Taken? (Poti Poti Studio) got a new trailer confirming ‘nearly one million players’ have bought the game, which has allowed the team to port it to PlayStation 5. This version arrives in August.
Usagi Shima: Bunny Island
Bunny-raising simulator Usagi Shima: Bunny Island (Studio Rabbiko) is coming to Steam in October. When it arrives, players will be able to spend time in the game creating a cosy island paradise perfect for bunnies to live and play around in.
Milki Delivery
Milki Delivery (Blibloop / Doot) is another game worth watching. This is the next title from the team behind Minami Lane, with a similar sensibility about its world. Here, you’ll be able to rebuild a community by delivering cow’s milk to local villagers. Milki Delivery is set to launch in 2026, and a demo is now available.
Hidden Folks 2
Hidden Folks 2 (Hidden Folks B.V.) got its first trailer during Wholesome Direct 2026. While this game inspired its own raft of copycats, there’s nothing better than the original. After years in development, the team will finally show off what’s next for this franchise when Hidden Folks 2 launches in 2027.
Lou’s Lagoon
Adventure game Lou’s Lagoon (Tiny Roar) finally has a locked-in release date! As revealed in a new gameplay and demo trailer, you’ll be able to pop into this cosy exploration and flying game from 27 August.
Beastfolk Barber
Beastfolk Barber (Safe Flight Games) is unlike any other game you’ll play, unless you remember the ‘girl games’ of the early 2000s, like Diva Starz for PC, or the browser-based My Scene games. As revealed in its world premiere trailer, this is a hairdressing simulator where you’re serving a group of anthropomorphic creatures, all with their own unique stories and wants.
The Wandering Village: The Last Leviathan
The Wandering Village (Stray Fawn Studio) is getting a brand new DLC chapter in future, The Last Leviathan. This introduces a new amphibian creature to build a cosy town on, as well as new-to-series buildings, resources, tech trees, and other content. Alongside this new DLC, the base game is also getting a big, free update in future that improves interaction with all ‘wandering village’ creatures.
Croakwood
Croakwood (Texel Raptor) is an upcoming ‘town builder for frogs’ with a relaxing, quiet vibe. In gameplay, you’ll work towards creating beautiful and practical townships where frogs can hang out and live their best lives. As announced during Wholesome Direct 2026, this game is set to release later this summer [Southern Hemisphere].
Deer & Boy
Deer & Boy (Lifeline Games) is a cinematic platformer adventure starring a runaway boy, and a friendly fawn. While we’re making assumptions here, it seems like this game will be highly emotional, so prepare to be devastated along this ride. As announced during Wholesome Direct 2026, this game launches on 23 June.
Patience Is A Virtue
Patience Is a Virtue (teaisfortoby) is a mystery puzzle game about ‘communicating with people you don’t understand’. It follows a young college graduate who moves back into his childhood home, but struggles with all sorts of new challenges, including a failure to ‘recognise the streets he was raised on’.
Design and Conjure
Design and Conjure (Tiny Kiwi Games) popped into Wholesome Direct 2026 with a new trailer showing off its magical cleaning gameplay, which allows players to decorate a variety of welcoming spaces, including home kitchens, bedrooms, and more. This game has a now demo out now ahead of its arrival in Q4 2026.
ScreenHub: Design and Conjure preview: an Unpacking-like with cosy style and charm
Dragon Shelter
Dragon Shelter (Wild Forest Studio) is a farming simulator set in a fantasy world where you can corral friendly dragons to help with your chores. As a tamer, you’ll also work to ‘reignite the long-lost friendship between humans and dragons’ while carving out a cosy space. During Wholesome Direct 2026, it was confirmed this game will release on 24 September.
Momento
Australian-made game Momento (Fat Alien Cat, Nomo Studio) is a cosy room decorator game where you sort through various items, all of which hold a particular memory or another. During Wholesome Direct 2026, a new trailer confirmed Momento is actually available now.
Petal Runner
Petal Runner (G-MODE) is an upcoming pixel adventure all about ‘companionship, life, loss, and what we carry with us.’ In the adventure, you’ll hop on your trusty bike, grab your cat companion and set off on an emotional journey.
Froggy Brews
Froggy Brews (Komodo Range Studio) got a new trailer and demo drop during the show. This upcoming game lets players embody a tea-loving frog who returns to their old neighbourhood to discover more about the people who still live there, and how everything has changed. A demo is now available on Steam.
Planet Zoo 2
Planet Zoo 2 (Frontier Developments) got a new trailer during Wholesome Direct 2026, specifically showing off its foxes, and new ‘natural’ behaviour for animals. As demonstrated, the game now has more reactive features, allowing players to directly interact and play with their animals for enrichment. This game is currently set to launch on 14 October.
Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit
Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit, sequel to the original Cozy Grove, got a major update during the show. After years of anticipation, it’ll finally launch on 15 July, and that’s not all. As well as releasing on mobile devices, it’ll also be available for PC and consoles.
Go-Go Town!
Australian-made game Go-Go Town! (Prideful Sloth) is exiting early access! During the show, it was confirmed the town-building Animal Crossing-like will officially hit 1.0 release on 16 July. A new update will introduce some extra features, allowing players to more fully enjoy the experience.
Loftia
Fellow Australian-made game Loftia (Qloud Games) also featured during Wholesome Direct 2026, with a new trailer confirming an early access launch window of Spring 2026 [Southern Hemisphere]. When players enter this game, they can expect a light-hearted MMO experience with lots of opportunities to adventure with friends.
ScreenHub: Without the cosy games community, new Aussie MMO Loftia ‘wouldn’t be here’
Tales of Seikyu
Tales of Seikyu (ACE Entertainment) is another game exiting early access shortly. As announced during Wholesome Direct 2026, this peaceful life simulator farming game will be released in its full 1.0 form on 11 June. Following this update, players will be able to better explore its world and see the full vision of the development team.
Spiritstead
Spiritstead (Turbo Dog Games) is an upcoming city builder set ‘in a world of magic’ where you can create cosy, idyllic villages, one structure or decoration at a time. During Wholesome Direct 2026, the game’s development team confirmed a new demo is now available via Steam.
Paralives x Unpacking
The Paralives team had a surprise announcement during the show: they’ve teamed up with Brisbane-based studio Witch Beam to release a free DLC pack featuring items inspired by Unpacking. Jump into the game after its new update, and you’ll find new plush toys, posters, t-shirts, and other fun goodies to decorate your home spaces with.
Moomin: Midsummer Madness
Another Moomin game was announced during Wholesome Direct 2026. That’s Moomin: Midsummer Madness (Crossbridge Game Studios), which stars Tove Jansson’s titular Moomins, as well as Little My, on a storybook adventure through a flooded world.
Wholesome Direct 2026: Highlight reel
To round off Wholesome Direct 2026, an array of new and upcoming games were given a spot in a flashy and fast-paced highlight reel of cool, cosy goodness. Here’s every game featured:
- Humblets (Berry Bite) – A cosy adventure game where you explore a quiet world of magical creatures. This title launches in 2027.
- Spiriki: Tiny Island (Pas Croyable Production) – A cartoonish adventure where you take care of three nature spirits. This game is set to release later in 2026.
- Waterful (Lenja Kaufmann / Findling Games) – A peaceful nature builder where you guide water through desert valleys.
- Rubber Bird (Outretaupe) – A puzzle game starring a bird with stretchy arms.
- Hela: of Mice & Magic (Windup Games) – A 3D co-op adventure starring a brave mouse. This game launches later in 2026.
- Little Cheese Works (Bubble Gum Studio) – A four-play co-op action game about mice working for a shady company. This game will launch in September.
- Toem 2 (Something We Made) – An adventure-photography sim where you travel a cosy world. This game now has a demo available on Steam.
- Otterly Lost (Soulworks Interactive) – A story-rich adventure about an otter traversing a lush island. This game is launching in September.
- Walk The Frog (Walk The Frog) – A puzzle adventure where you traverse virtual sticky notes. This game is out now on PC and arrives on Nintendo Switch in September.
- Japanese Rural Life Adventure (G-MODE) – A slow life simulation game where you can experience the charm of traditional Japanese countryside living.
- Tiny Delivery (Sinica) – A cosy adventure starring a robot courier making their way through a cosy town. This game is set to launch in Q3 2026.
- Hokko Spaces (Wonderspace Games) – A casual sandbox experience where players can create lovely dioramas.
- Wild Chorus (Habitat Games) – An exploration game about reconnecting a silent world through music. This game is launching in 2027.
- Anemorie (InnGamez Studio) – A story-driven adventure following a young girl dealing with love and self-discovery. This game is set to release in Q1 2027.
- Colorbound (Panpipe Studio) – A colour-based puzzle adventure where you must reshape your environment around you. This game is set to launch later in 2026.
- Fossil Quest (Unsigned Double) – A relaxing game about finding fossils as a virtual palaeontologist. This game is set to launch in 2027.
- Danchi Days (Gingham Games) – A slice-of-life adventure game set in the 2000s in Japan. This game is set to launch in October 2026.
- Pelican Post (Shoreside Studio) – A cosy narrative game about serving a community as a pelican mailman. This game will launch later in 2026.
- Papaya Plaza (Biscuit Factory Games) – A slice-of-life town-building game starring cutesy critters. This game is set to launch in 2027.
