Village in the Shade
In the codexAdventureSimulation

Village in the Shade

Enjoy quiet, countryside living in a Japanese village in this brand new farming sim! Just make sure you follow the rules—or else!

DEV: Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.PUB: NIS America, Inc.AppID 3934250
UPDATE PULSEevery ~7d·last 31d ago·6 recent on record

Is Village in the Shade still being updated? — the short answer, with the evidence.

96.7
Exceptional

Elixir Rating

91.3% of 761 Steam reviews are positive, which after adjusting for sample size gives a reception score of 89.1. The developers have shipped 8 substantial updates in the past six months, adding 7.6.

reception 89.1·support +7.6·Exceptional

Computed from Steam’s own review tally and observable developer activity — never from anyone’s opinion of the game. How this is calculated

Should you look into this?

From Steam's own record

Current price

$49.99

Development

Actively supported

Last heard from developers

19 days ago

Usual rhythm

every ~4 days

Substantial updates (6 mo)

8

Current silence

5× normal

The developers post roughly every 4 days and were last heard 19 days ago — within their normal range. 8 substantial updates landed in the past six months, 8 of them major.

Distilled by the oracle

Our coverage

1 dispatch written from this game’s announcements

releaseSep 15, 2026

Village in the Shade Patch 1.08 Fixes Skill Bugs, Adds Sickle Harvesting

Patch 1.08 for Village in the Shade lands as a mixed release — part bug-fix sweep, part quality-of-life expansion — addressing issues that had been quietly undermining core systems since launch.

What changed

Bug fixes

  • Cashmere Goats failed to unlock under certain conditions — now resolved.
  • Fertilizer effects were not applying correctly.
  • Three skills — Prospecting Finesse, Prospecting Finesse+, and Regalia Wrangler — were not raising their respective appearance rates as designed.
  • Achievements could silently fail to unlock depending on network connectivity.
  • Additional unspecified unintended behaviors were corrected.

Additions and improvements

  • A new sound effect plays when the quarry hole to the next floor appears.
  • Glass Shard appearance rate has been increased.
  • Unlock conditions for Spring vegetable seeds and fruit have been relaxed.
  • Help requests will no longer ask for items from seeds or livestock the player hasn't yet unlocked.
  • Picking up an item now simultaneously collects identical items nearby.
  • Items with custom brand names now display an icon before the name.
  • A UI indicator now signals that inventory rows can be swapped after purchasing a Large Bag.
  • Tips have been added covering farm tool range changes and removing tilled soil or seedlings with the pickaxe.
  • A new skill allows crops to be harvested with the sickle, unlockable via the skill tree by offering the appropriate magatama at the crossroads hokora.

For players who had stalled on locked content or found their skill investments producing no effect, this patch removes several invisible walls — while the sickle-harvesting skill adds a meaningful new option to the late skill tree.

Two years of development

■ substantial ■ routine

Nov2025FebMayAugNov2026FebMayAug

13 announcements · 8 substantial · 21 months with nothing

Recent Transmissions

13 entries in codex

Community AnnouncementsSep 15, 2026
Deluxe Edition Now Available!

The Deluxe Edition of Village in the Shade is now available!The Touring Kagatsu Artbook features a large collection of key visuals and character illustrations. As it contains some spoiler-related content, we recommend enjoying it after comp…

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Community AnnouncementsSep 15, 2026
Simplified Chinese Language Support Now Available!

Simplified Chinese language support has been added!Players who prefer Simplified Chinese can now enjoy this unique and atmospheric life simulation game with their language setting of choice.In addition, the Deluxe Edition of Village in the …

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Community AnnouncementsSep 11, 2026
Additional content for Village in the Shade!

We're releasing both free updates and purchasable DLC for Village in the Shade!\Release Date:9/29/2026 (Tue.)New Furniture - Camping SeriesPrerequisite: Obtain the Pheasant Hunting PermitThe Camping furniture series will include a total of …

Community AnnouncementsSep 3, 2026
Update Patch 1.09 Now Available

Update patch 1.09 has been released. Details of this patch are as follows: Bug FixesFixed a bug where traps would remain broken and could not be retrieved.Fixed a bug where multiple wild animals could get caught in a single cage trap.Fixed …

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Community AnnouncementsAug 27, 2026
Update Patch 1.08.1 Now Available

Update patch 1.08.1 has been released. Details of this patch are as follows: Bug FixesFixed an issue where controls became unresponsive after the "Lost Book" event was cleared.Fixed other minor issues. We sincerely apologize for any inconve…

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Community AnnouncementsAug 26, 2026
Update Patch 1.08 Now Available

Update patch 1.08 has been released. Details of this patch are as follows:Bug FixesFixed a bug where Cashmere Goats would not unlock under certain conditions.Fixed a bug where fertilizer effects were not being properly applied.Fixed a bug w…

Read our dispatch on this

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Community AnnouncementsAug 17, 2026
Update Patch 1.06 Now Available

Update patch 1.06 has been released. Details of this patch are as follows:Fixed a bug where the game would crash if a pickaxe was swung even once inside an indoor facility (such as a barn or coop) and the facility was subsequently demolishe…

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Community AnnouncementsAug 14, 2026
Regarding the in-game display language

Once the game has launched, the display language cannot be changed in-game.Additionally, the display language setting is saved individually for each save file.If you wish to play in a language other than Japanese, please change the setting …

Community AnnouncementsAug 10, 2026
Additional Language Support Coming in October!

The wait is over everyone! The official language patch for English, French, and Spanish will launch on Tuesday 10/27/26. We thank you for your patience and can't wait for you to follow the rules.

Community AnnouncementsAug 10, 2026
Update Patch 1.05 Now Available

Update patch 1.05 has been released. Details of this patch are as follows:Fixed a bug that blocked progress for some events occurring at the player's home at night. Fixed a bug where livestock would disappear if the second livestock pen was…

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Community AnnouncementsAug 4, 2026
Update Patch 1.04 Now Available

Update patch 1.04 has been released. Details of this patch are as follows: Fixed an issue where the player would become unable to leave home the day after a holiday (Festival or Competition) Fixed an issue where an event required to progres…

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Community AnnouncementsJul 31, 2026
Fixed Issue with Key Config

We've fixed a bug where the key config settings weren't being saved properly. We deeply apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused. Thank you for your continued support of Village in the Shade.

Community AnnouncementsJul 29, 2026
Additional language support coming soon!

Thank you for your patience. Simplified Chinese, English, French, and Spanish language support are currently being prepared and will be added in a future update. We will notify you once the additional language support becomes available. Ple…