Witchbrook’s 2025 Release Window Isn’t Looking Good

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Chucklefish and Robotality first announced Witchbrook back in 2016, and fans of pixel art and magical games absolutely lost it for the initial screenshots. The game has a sort of Hogwarts Legacy meets Stardew Valley vibe, letting players attend magic school in a beautiful pixel art world. It will have also have a multiplayer feature, making it potentially one of the biggest cozy games of the year. If, of course, it actually comes out this year. Which is starting to look a bit less likely.

Witchbrook Fans Went Without Updates for Years

Image courtesy of chucklefish and robotality

Compared to the previous nine years, we’ve had an absolute onslaught of new Witchbrook info this year. Chucklefish has kicked it into high gear on their socials, giving players a ton of sneak peeks at Witchbrook and even starting a newsletter for the game. But that hasn’t always been the case. Following the initial Witchbrook announcement, fans heard basically nothing about the game for nearly a decade. Many of us were surprised to see it resurface with a polished trailer this year, let alone a release window for late 2025.

For many fans of cozy and witchy games, Witchbrook has been on our wishlists for years with no news. That means it’s not necessarily surprising that we haven’t heard from Chucklefish on the release date. Yet with the ramp-up of new info, including the Witchbrook Oracle and introductions to romanceable characters, it certainly seems like we’re getting ready for launch. And that makes it a bit odd that we haven’t yet heard a confirmed release date beyond that initial Winter 2025 window.

It’s already a bit disappointing that a game perfect for October is targeting winter rather than fall. But if it’s really is aiming for Winter 2025, a release before the holiday season certainly seems like the best bet. So the question is, if it’s still coming out this year, when are we going to get the date?

With No News in Either Nintendo Direct, A Witchbrook Delay Looks Likely

Image courtesy of Chucklefish and Robotality

Many cozy gamers, myself included, got incredibly excited for Witchbrook news when the July Nintendo Partner Direct was confirmed. And then, there was nary a glimpse of a pixel art witch hat or cauldron. Our hopes were only temporarily dashed, however, because the Indie World Direct was confirmed soon after. Surely, we all thought, this is when we get the Witchbrook details. But that 15-minute Indie World Direct also breezed by without a mention of Witchbrook. And now, I’m officially concerned about that 2025 release window.

Several big games have been delayed in recent years, with everything from Tales of the Shire to Grand Theft Auto 6 opting for more time in the oven. So, when time goes by without a confirmed release date, I start to get worried about my most anticipated games. I felt the same way about Digimon Story: Time Stranger, but thankfully, my fears were unfounded in that case. But as 2025 stretches on with no Witchbrook release date, I fear a delay announcement could be imminent. And to paraphrase another well-known magical character, I’ve done my waiting. Almost 10 years of it.

Yes, some games don’t leave much space between their release date reveal and the actual launch. But even so, the time between now and Winter 2025 is closing in, and several big opportunities to reveal the game’s release to a massive audience just passed by. Chucklefish hasn’t gone radio silent on us again, but they certainly don’t seem ready to nail down a specific date. The most recent post to the official Witchbrook account was almost a month ago, on July 10th. The account isn’t super active normally, but the pace has certainly slowed down.

Between that and the lack of any new info at the recent showcases, I’m starting to wonder if winter 2025 is still happening for Witchbrook. Of course, there is often a Nintendo Direct in September. If that trend proves true for the Switch 2, we could learn about a Witchbrook release date then. It could even still hit that 2025 window. But my hopes of curling up with the game after Thanksgiving are starting to seem a bit premature.

Witchbrook could also do its release date reveal without attaching it to a major showcase. But given the choice to drop the release window trailer and first big update in years at a Nintendo Direct, that seems unlikely. At any rate, I think I speak for my fellow witchy cozy gamers when I say we’re really hoping to get this game in our hands soon.