A Stardew Valley game by the creators of Genshin Impact is in the works

The cozy RPG genre is booming, and HoYoverse, who is planning a game inspired by Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, won't tell you otherwise. The news is crazy, but the leaks are in and we take stock as the Chinese developer registers the trademark for its new video game licence locally.

A game project like Stardew Valley but by HoYoverse has been in the pipeline for a year

HoYoverse's future Stardew Valley-like production is nothing new. Last year in June, we already knew that the studio was aiming to publish a life simulation game in the years to come. There are many inspirations and influences in the genre: My Time at Portia, Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing, Slime Rancher and Coral Island are perfect examples.

Screenshot of Harvest Moon

Leakers like UBatcha, with a rather positive track record, shared information in 2023. The idea was to offer a casual and relaxing game, accessible to all, with gameplay loops focused on farming, decorating and landscaping. However, we haven't seen any gameplay yet.

A trademark for 星布谷地 Starry Sky Valley by HoYoverse

If the story of a Stardew Valley game created by HoYoverse goes back to last summer, why are we telling you about it now? Quite simply because the Reddit r/gachagaming community has its eyes on every front. HoYoverse has registered a specific trademark with the Chinese government. It's called XinBuGuDi (星布谷地) and translates, with the help of DeepL, as 'Star Cuckoo Valley', 'Star and Banner Valley', 'Star Cloth Valley' or 'Starbud Valley'.

Artwork of Palia (game also used on the article cover) painted by Jeremy Fenske

This filing dates back to 2 February in China. As there has been no further information on the progress of development of the game, like HoYoverse's Stardew Valley, and the names are very similar, it is very likely that the two are linked. Since then, accounts on the Chinese social networks Weibo and biliBili have appeared. It all goes back to Shanghai, where miHoYo / HoYoverse is headquartered.

Screenshot of Stardew Valley

ConcernedApe's life simulator could have competition soon if things speed up. However, don't expect this to be the Chinese studio's next release. Zenless Zone Zero, the post-apocalyptic RPG scheduled for release in 2024, is expected to come out earlier.

With the release of Honkai: Star Rail Part 2 and the Genshin updates, the developers are continuing to release major cross-platform content, and it's to be hoped that the HoYoververse's Stardew Valley will get the same treatment.