Hello Researchers!
One year ago, Research Story reached 1.0. I am incredibly grateful to every single person who has supported the game and our journey 💗
To celebrate our first year of full release, the v1.2 Carefree Creatures & Anniversary Update is officially live for all players and the game is 20% off till Jul 30, 11 PM PDT! A big thank you to everyone who has played the beta and shared your valuable feedback and bug reports!
Stay till the end for some exciting news about the Switch release!
https://youtu.be/7OJqU4WJWok
v1.2 Carefree Creatures Highlights
✨ 2 New Creatures: Meet the Rideable Capybaras! ✨
Introducing a new research tier to your journal: Mythic Creatures! This category houses unique, rare species that exist all year round.
Our very first entry is the "Summit and Shallows Vol. I" book, featuring two new rideable friends:
- The Claypybara: Found daily wallowing in the mud of the newly uncovered sub-area, the Clayey Shallows (right next to Theo's cliffside cabin!). Taming them provides a steady daily source of Clay on your farm. Keep an eye out on rainy days (or during Winter's new Flurry Frost weather) for its rare, glossy Shimmer variant!
- The Mossybara: An adorable guest that has a chance to relax at the Summit Hot Spring during the day. (Rumour has it a Shimmer version can be found resting under the stars at night...)
I’ve also added a Journal Index Page listing all 97 researchables so you can easily track down which entries you are missing!
🏡 6 New Farm Buildings for Automating Creature Care!
- Clay Silo: Refills Auto-feeders and troughs automatically at the end of each day.
- Creature Enrichment Areas: Build the new Grassy Playground, Cavern Den, Desert Oasis, or Tundra Reserve to permanently stop creature happiness decay on your farm.
- Magical Spa: Late-game building that gives a passive daily happiness bonus.
🌾 Silt & Advanced Soils
The opening of the Clayey Shallows introduces Silt - a new harvestable material. Collect it from the shallows floor to craft advanced soil modifiers:
- Catalyst Soil: Crops grow ~30-50% faster (Requires Silt).
- Bountiful Soil: Increases overall crop yield (Requires Silt).
- Stasis Soil: Crops can grow in any season.
Tomatoes in Winter? No problem!
🎁 Anniversary Gifts!
All players, new and returning, who have completed their first year in-game will find a special package in their mailbox on or after 1 Spring Y2. It features exclusive decor:
- 🐾 Sproutkitten Plushie & Sproutkitten Cushion
- 🧱 Archive Wallpaper & Archive Flooring
- 🏆 The Golden Quill Statue
🎮 Other New Features
- The "Relaxed" Game Mode: Toggle this at any time in your options to stop animal happiness decay, lower shop prices, and prevent harsh environmental debuffs in the deep mines.
- Permanent Fast Travel: Visit Hueon to purchase the permanent Return Medallion and Mines Medallion, or craft one-use scrolls after unlocking the Mines.
- Streamlined Crafting: Fixed-ingredient recipes now pull directly from your inventory automatically.
- Lots of community-requested QOL: See ingredients before crafting using Feed Crafter/Bait Press. See fertiliser output when holding a valid material. Crates and pots in the mines can now be broken using a Scythe!
- And more!
Full patch notes here.
📘 Research Story is Coming to Nintendo Switch! 📕
I have one final surprise to celebrate our first year: Research Story officially launches on Nintendo Switch on August 27, 2026! 🎉🎉🎉
If you want to play on the go or share the news with a friend, the store page is officially live. Wishlist the game on the Nintendo eShop today to help support our upcoming Switch launch!
🗺️ Looking Ahead: The Future Roadmap
Now that v1.2 is officially out, I want to share some of my thoughts for our next major update, especially based on some player requests that are still at the back of my mind:
💗 The Romance & Relationships Update:
- More post-marriage content
- More dialogue and cutscenes
- Possibly a new romanceable candidate or two
Thank you for an amazing first year. Hop into v1.2 (and onto our new Capybara friends), and let me know what you think! 😊
Miki 🤍
