Witchbrook is an upcoming social RPG and farming sim developed and published by Chucklefish. Set in the charming seaside town of Mossport, players assume the role of a witch-in-training at Witchbrook College. Witchbrook promises a vibrant mix of activities, including attending classes, mastering spells, brewing potions, gardening, and broom racing. Players can make friends, find love, and customize their character and home.
You might have recognized the publisher/developer: Chucklefish is a British game developer and publisher founded in 2011 by Finn Brice, based in London. The company is known for its focus on retro-styled games and has developed and published several notable titles. Their in-house games include Starbound (2016), a space exploration game, and Wargroove (2019), a turn-based strategy game. As a publisher, Chucklefish has supported various successful indie games, including Stardew Valley by ConcernedApe, Risk of Rain by Hopoo Games, and Eastward by Pixpil.
The “witchy farming sim” is an emerging micro-genre that I can confidentially say I’ve fallen head-over-heels for—with Wylde Flowers springing to mind as one of my absolute favorite story-driven, RPG farming sims and Mika and The Witch’s Mountain being my most anticipated cozy game of 2024 (a follow-up to another of my all-time faves, Summer in Mara). Because of this, Witchbrook has been on my radar for a long while.
Announced “unofficially” in 2016 and then “officially” in 2018, Witchbrook has been stuck in so-called development hell for the better part of 8 years, passing between multiple devs with meagre communication or progress updates offered to press and fans.
“The Nintendo Switch wasn’t even out when this game was first announced, but at this rate its successor will likely be released before the game,” points out Reddit user Sunset-of-Stars, indicating just how bleak the endless delays look when put in the perspective of shifting console generations. Whatever tech Witchbrook was being developed on/for has long since been replaced by bigger, better, newer stuff. And audiences that once subscribed to the game’s subreddit and Steam Wishlist are losing hope and dropping off.
Will Witchbrook ever see the light of day? It’s looking less and less likely as the years stretch on. Which is too bad, because it’s clear that a ton of love was put into building out Mossport and filling the cozy little world with tons to see and explore. As sad as I am to see the game struggling, it may be best for Chucklefish to just announce that it’s cancelled at this point. Or hand it off to a developer that has the time, inclination, resources, and passion to chase it over the finish line.
Either way, I’ll keep you updated as (or if) developments emerge around Witchbrook.
Until then, there are plenty (and I mean plenty) of cozy games that can occupy you in the meantime. Here are some of my favorites:
- Top Cozy Games on Steam: Essential Picks Everyone Should Play
- Cozy Games Rated Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam
- Best Cozy Free Games on Steam
And here are some of my most recommended reviewed games:
Stay cozy, gamers!