New indie studio Big Blue Sky Games teases upcoming game Merchants of Rosewall and we are SO in

There are a few indie studios we’ve had our eyes on since their conception and one of them, Big Blue Sky Games, just released a teaser trailer and a bunch of art for its newly announced fantasy shop management sim, Merchants of Rosewall. Big Blue Sky is a studio made up of devs whose resumes boast prior AAA employment from Blizzard to Bungie, who wanted to form a new studio with an emphasis on a stable, diverse team, so we’re very excited to see their first offering.

The trailer presents not only the general look of the game, but also a little bit of the gameplay. Pick items to stock in your shop from a selection of recipes: you’ll be tasked with sourcing ingredients and learning how to make them before they can hit your store shelves. The general aesthetic is perfectly in line with what we’d expect from a cozy fantasy game, and Rosewall does seem very cozy. Characters range from Orcs to Dwarves, with lots of options in between — some of which seem newly invented by the Big Blue Sky team — and the setting itself could be straight out of a more stylized, painterly version of Stormwind, though it is already uniquely its own.

Of course, it’s tough to point out each intriguing highlight from a short trailer, but our interest is very piqued by what we’ve seen so far. It feels simultaneously familiar and fresh.

The one thing we’re not sure about yet is whether there is a romance angle. The art showcased on their site for character dialogue looks somewhat similar to visual novels, which usually contain a very strong romance hook. However, even if there isn’t smooching, the game does have a clear social angle to some degree, with dialogue from the trailer talking about cooperation and working together.

According to the copy on their Steam page, there also seems to be a hint of a mystery afoot, and if we weren’t already sold already, that would probably clinch it. Over time, players will be able to find out more about Rosewall’s past, including long-held secrets, and they may even be able to shape the future based on what they uncover.

Merchants of Rosewall is slated for release later in 2024, but you can wishlist it on Steam now, or you can sign up for their mailing list and join their Discord on their website, MerchantsofRosewall.com.