Merchants of Rosewall is a cozy game with a climate crisis twist [Video]

Big Blue Sky Games, a new studio of industry veterans, has revealed its debut game, Merchants of Rosewall. The project, set to launch sometime this year, is described as a story-driven, online shop-management game where the climate of its world impacts the availability and cost of resources.

The game has been in development over at Big Blue Sky Games for the past two years. The small studio is comprised of 25 developers total, with 16 dedicated to the game. That talent comes from major publishers like EA, Bungie, and Blizzard. Despite that big-budget pedigree, Merchants of Rosewall is a modest debut that looks to make titles like Stardew Valley even more approachable.

The concept is that players run their own shop in a fantasy world devoid of combat. Players hire artisans to staff the shop, source raw materials, craft items like pies, and sell them. The emphasis is specifically on streamlined crafting, as opposed to …