Cinnadev’s upcoming cozy adventure, Delphinium, blends crop-tending and crafting with a deeply emotional, branching narrative about loss and rebuilding. Arriving on PC and Xbox in 2027.
If you thought the farming simulator genre was exclusively about planting parsnips and cheerfully handing gifts to local townsfolk, publisher Serenity Forge (Doki Doki Literature Club Plus, To the Moon) is about to completely flip your expectations.
Teaming up with Australian indie developer Cinnadev, the publisher used the backdrop of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco to officially pull the curtain back on Delphinium. Slated for a 2027 release on PC and Xbox consoles (with full Xbox Play Anywhere support), this unique title promises to blend the cozy mechanics of a life sim with a heavy, bittersweet narrative about grief, regret, and finding a new purpose.
Select press and industry professionals were treated to a behind-closed-doors hands-on preview during the ID@Xbox Press Event, but today, the rest of the world gets its first look.
A Village of Outcasts
Delphinium follows the story of Haiyan, a young woman who wakes up grieving and directionless in a remote mountain village. Years prior, Haiyan abandoned this quiet town—which boasts a population of just nine outcasts—to follow her ambitious older brother in a movement to rebuild their war-torn homeland. She didn’t care about the cause; she only cared about him.
When his ambitions inevitably caught up with him, resulting in his execution and the collapse of the movement, the life Haiyan built vanished overnight.
Dragged back to her roots, Haiyan must piece her life back together. The game tasks players with helping her decide what kind of future she wants to build. Will she root herself in the fragile community growing around her, or will she ultimately leave the village behind to discover who she is entirely on her own?
Story-Driven Rural Life
In Delphinium, farming isn’t just a mechanic for making money; it is the vehicle for Haiyan’s healing. The developers have emphasized that planting seeds, preparing meals, and helping your neighbors aren’t side activities—they are the core of how you rebuild your life.
The gameplay features a dynamic day-and-night cycle, packed with engaging, skill-based minigames for fishing and cleaning. As you progress, you will unlock an expansive crafting system featuring over 200 recipes for cooking meals and building furniture to personalize the village.
Every task you undertake deepens your relationships and advances the unfolding narrative. Giving gifts and completing daily quests will uncover hidden links between the villagers. Because every resident carries their own regrets and rivalries, the connections you choose to nurture—or neglect—will unlock new dialogue, shift alliances, and lead to wildly diverging branching endings.
Watch the GDC Reveal Trailer: YouTube Link
Wishlist Delphinium on Steam: Store Page
About the Developers
Delphinium is the passion project of Cinnadev, a small indie studio based in Adelaide, South Australia. Their mission is to create character-driven games that center around diverse identities and reflect real-life experiences, with a strong focus on queer characters and narratives. By partnering with Serenity Forge—a studio famous for publishing meaningful games that challenge players’ perspectives—they are poised to deliver one of the most emotionally resonant indie titles of 2027.
While 2027 is still a ways off, Delphinium is already shaping up to be a must-watch title for fans of narrative-heavy cozy games. We will be keeping a close eye on this mountain village as development continues.