Starsand Island

Starsand Island was developed by Chinese studio Seed Sparkle Lab and produced by Golton Gao.^[3][4] The game was first announced on 6 May 2024. The game was originally announced to be released for Microsoft Windows in Q4 2025.^[5] Other considered platforms were PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.^[4] A crowdfunding campaign was launched at Kickstarter to fund the game's development. The Kickstarter campaign ended on 31 May 2025, earning over $300,000.^[3][6]

The game released into early access for Windows and Xbox Series X/S on 11 February 2026, with a full release for Windows, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S in the summer of 2026.^[7] It will have a collaboration event with Pathea Games' My Time at Portia, featuring two characters from that game.^[8] The developers have further promised to allow players to define their own “life story” through daily activities, relationships, and choices.^[9] It has been considered a cosy game by Emma-Jane Betts of GamesRadar.^[10]

Some of this section's listed sources may not be reliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed. (April 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Screen Hype's Lyssa Greywood comments that it's a game that knows its audience, calling it "escapism in the quietest sense," but also taking the time to uncover and report various early bugs that affected their gameplay.^[11] Loot Level Chill's Kieran Singh commends Starsand Island for being "surprisingly high quality" despite its Early Access status.^[12] However, Indie Games Devel's Laura Rosada picks apart the game's limited exploration aspects, pointing out that the only notable exploration area is the Moonlit Forest.^[13]