New Cozy Sim Asks What If Animal Crossing Looked Like The Elder Scrolls?

Hawthorn is an upcoming game from some ex-Bethesda devs about animals harvesting produce, setting up dinner parties, and generally chilling about in the great outdoors and fulfilling everyone’s cottagecore dreams. It looks sort of like Animal Crossing if it took place inside of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

It’s in development at NEARstudios, a new team led by Heather Cerlan (Bethesda, Naughty Dog) and Jason Richardson (Bethesda, Funcom) that includes talent from BioWare and other established studios. Bruce Nesmith, lead designer on Skyrim, is also helping out on the side, a press release from the studio explains. The co-op sandbox RPG doesn’t have a release date or a publisher yet, but it’s supposed to come to PC via Steam eventually.

“Inspired by Victorian-era European fairytales and the spirit of 80s and 90s adventure stories featuring anthropomorphic animals, Hawthorn offers a rich fantasy world where woodland creatures and fairy beings coexist in a complex, layered sandbox,” reads the studio’s description. “Players will have the opportunity to build a village, forge relationships with endearing NPCs, and explore a world that is both familiar and refreshingly new.” In other words, the Redwall vibes were intentional.

For a cozy genre stuffed with wholesome and cutesy Stardew Valley variants, Hawthorn’s grainy but hyper-realistic style helps set it apart in an interesting way. “You can expect sandbox, highly systemic gameplay,” Cerlan said about the project earlier this year. The game will revolve around building up a thriving village of fellow animals controlled by AI NPCs and coop friends.

Hawthron’s whimsical pitch for a “an intimate Skyrim sandbox meets a Stardew Valley village simulation” comes just as fundraising in the games industry has never been grimmer. It’s a neat idea, if the team can secure the backing to make it possible.