Everything Announced During Whitethorn Winter 2025

Image: A white snowflake with a cozy cabin in the center sits in the center of a cold hilly field. Snow gently falls across the image.

Our annual Whitethorn Winter Showcase premiered today, and it came with a blizzard of game news, developer talks, and more! We also sat down with special guests, Laura Kate Dale, Latin American Games Showcase, Safe In Our World, and Stream for a Cause to discuss our shared commitments to enhancing the gaming industry by fostering a more inclusive, accessible, and representative space for developers, industry professionals, and gamers alike. 

In case you missed the showcase, you can catch the replay on YouTube.

Here is a rundown of everything announced during the Whitethorn Winter 2025 Showcase:

New Calico DLC — Calico - Neat Things Out Today on PC and Nintendo Switch

We’re starting off with the biggest surprise from the showcase today as the new DLC for the beloved cat café Calico, Calico - Neat Things, is available on PC and Nintendo Switch! The Neat Things DLC introduces new quests, a new character, new mini-games, and, of course, cuddly new friends to invite to your café!

Features coming to the Calico - Neat Things DLC include:

• New Quest — Neat Things Scavenger Hunt: Your beloved aunt has a mission for you that takes you across the whole island in search of some really neat things!

• New Area and NPC — Mermaid’s Cove: Visit Clover Cove to uncover a new area, and meet a mythical new friend — Nahla the Mermaid!  

• New Animal Companions: Become best buds with new cuddly friends, including a mischievous raccoon, a smiley axolotl, a playful elephant, a loveable golden retriever, and, of course, a very familiar cat!

• Two New Mini-Games: The Cutie City arcade has two new activities to enjoy, so be sure to pay it a visit!

• New Café Decorations: Create your dream aquatic-themed café with furniture!

• And More to Discover: Wander around the island and explore the world around you to discover some fun new interactions, such as playing in piles of fallen leaves, making a wish on dandelions that have gone to seed, and more!

Right now, you can pick up both Calico and Calico - Neat Things for a discounted price as part of the Calico Complete bundle on Steam!

Calico: Neat Things is available today on PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch for $4.99 USD and requires the base game to access. Calico is available on PC — via Steam, Epic Games, Humble Bundle Store, itch.io, and Game Jolt; Xbox One and Series X|S, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Nintendo Switch for $11.99 USD.

Watch the Calico - Neat Things Launch Trailer:

New Demo for Spray Paint Simulator Available on Steam on February 13

Can’t get enough Spray Paint Simulator? Well, you’re in luck! A new demo for the game will be available on February 13, featuring a whole new level to paint to perfection and — even better — no time limit! Now, you can take your time as you complete two jobs for your discerning customers in Career Mode or paint each level all the colours of the rainbow and hunt for hidden secrets in Free Spray Mode. 

Speaking of Free Spray Mode, Whitethorn Games revealed a new trailer showing it off during the showcase.

Spray Paint Simulator will be available on PC via Steam in 2025.

Watch the Spray Paint Simulator: Free Spray Mode trailer:

Two Characters for Kernel Hearts Revealed in a New Trailer

During the showcase, Momo, Lead Character Artist, shared details about two of the allies you’ll meet while battling your way up the Tower of Babel in the upcoming action-packed multiplayer roguelike Kernel Hearts.  

Combining challenging hack-’n-slash gameplay, role-playing, and roguelike elements with stunning anime aesthetics, in Kernel Hearts, you will battle your way up a deadly celestial tower, building your arsenal of skills with each mortal demise to eradicate monstrous angelic enemies and dethrone a god to save the world.

Kernel Hearts will be available on PC via Steam and Xbox Series X|S.

Watch the new Kernel Hearts video:

Whitethorn Brings Three Titles to PlayStation This Year

We’re bringing not one, not two, but three amazing games to PS5 and PS4 in 2025! Take on the role of a slime, combine skills on the fly, and battle through fearsome corrupted enemies in Slime Heroes; cook up some magical treats in the Metroidvania-lite-meets-cooking game Magical Delicacy; and go on a vacation in the Mediterranean with the Greek gods narrative adventure game Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island on PlayStation this year! Watch the announcement trailers below:

Watch the Slime Heroes PlayStation Announcement Trailer:

Watch the Magical Delicacy PlayStation Announcement Trailer:

Watch the Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island PlayStation Announcement Trailer:

For more information about the Whitethorn Winter Showcase, follow Whitethorn Games on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch, join the official Whitethorn Games Discord, and visit https://whitethorngames.com.

Check out the Sights and Sounds of Providence Oaks Under a Blanket of Snow in a New Trailer for the Upcoming DLC, Lake: Season’s Greetings

While it’s far from snow season for many of us, the team at Gamious is hard at work creating an authentic, festive winter scene for the upcoming DLC to their beloved mail carrier narrative adventure Lake, Lake: Season’s Greetings. Today, the team provides an early look into some of the effects used to help create the idyllic winter atmosphere by sharing a new trailer.

As fans of the snow, the team at Gamious is working to ensure the most important details are present to create their captivating winter wonderland. From the crunch of snow under heavy boots and the fluffy clumps that flick up as you walk, to tire tracks and doughnuts in the snow, to the pine branches sagging with heavy ice crystals after a recent snowfall, you’ll be transported to a picturesque snowscape without ever having to pick up a shovel!

Watch the Sights and Sounds of Providence Oaks trailer below:

Lake: Season’s Greetings is a Christmas-themed prequel to the successful, relaxing mail carrier narrative adventure, Lake, and introduces a new chapter to the story, presenting a different perspective to many of the familiar faces players have grown to love from the main story. It will also introduce five completely new characters to the town of Providence Oaks, each of them with their own slice-of-life storylines. Changing the perspective from Meredith to her father, Thomas, presents a new understanding of the relationship Meredith has with her parents for you to explore. Players will also get to find out more about some of the unanswered questions that were teased in Lake, and learn more about life in Providence Oaks and its inhabitants, as well as the positive role an amiable mailman can play in all sorts of small-town drama.

Lake: Season’s Greetings will be released on PC and several other platforms this holiday season. More information about the precise release date and launch platforms will be revealed in the coming months.

Lake is available now on PC via Steam, or Epic Games Store, on PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.  

Follow Lake on Twitter, Facebook, and visit the official website, for more updates.

[Press Release] Christmas Comes Early With a Prequel to Lake – Announced Today During The Mix | Guerrilla Collective 2023 Showcase

Christmas Comes Early to Providence Oaks in New DLC For Mail Delivery Narrative Adventure Lake

Announced During The Mix | Guerrilla Collective 2023 Showcase, the Prequel Story, Season’s Greetings, Introduces New Story Lines and New Characters to the Peaceful Oregon Town  

Erie, Pennsylvania (June 7, 2023) – Today, developer Gamious and publisher Whitethorn Games unveiled the announcement trailer for Season's Greetings: a holiday-themed DLC prequel to the successful and relaxing mail carrier game Lake. 

In Season's Greetings, players will take on the role of Thomas Weiss, father to Lake's protagonist Meredith Weiss. The story takes place during 1985's holiday season, in the year before the original Lake game.

The trailer was first revealed during The Mix | Guerrilla Collective 2023 Showcase. Watch it here:

"We can't wait for players to jump back into Lake's world, which might look even prettier covered in a layer of snow, and cheered up with lots of Christmas lighting,” said Gamious' Creative Director Jos Bouman. "As far as we know, Season's Greetings might be the first game that doesn't just add a visual layer to make it a 'Christmas game', but is built from the ground up to let players experience a game in the true spirit of Christmas. With the annual bombardment of Christmas-themed music and movies, we think it's about time to add a holiday game to that tradition!”

"Players also don't have to worry that the Lake ending they chose won't be compatible with Season's Greetings, as the prequel takes place nine months before the events of Lake," adds Bouman.

Season's Greetings will offer the same relaxing gameplay as Lake. While this new chapter will star many familiar faces, it will also introduce five completely new characters to the town of Providence Oaks, each of them with their own slice-of-life storylines. Changing the perspective from Meredith to her father, Thomas, presents a new perspective on the relationship Meredith has with her parents for players to explore. Players will also get to find out more about some of the unanswered questions that were teased in Lake, and learn more about life in Providence Oaks and its inhabitants, and the positive role an amiable mailman can play in all sorts of small-town drama.

In Lake, travel back to 1986 and take on the role of 40-something-year-old Meredith, who leaves the fast-paced drudgery of her big city life and returns to her quiet, rustic hometown. During her two-week stay in the beautiful lakeside community of Providence Oaks, Oregon, she’ll fill in for her father – the local mail carrier – where she will not only deliver letters and parcels to new and old friendly faces but will also rekindle old friendships, make new ones, and maybe even find romance.

At the end of her vacation, will Meredith return to the big city, or will she choose a different path for her life? It’s up to players to steer the story how they see fit in this slice-of-life interactive game.

Key Features of Lake include:

• Travel back to 1986 and escape to a beautiful, rustic town that is free of the stresses of smartphones, the Internet, and social media.

• Ditch that city life and desk job and go to drive your father's mail truck in rural Oregon, or kick up your feet and let auto-pilot do the work.

• Choose from a variety of after-work activities that include hanging with friends, helping out your neighbors, or staying in with a good book.

• Experience a branching story that doesn’t shy away from slice-of-life themes. Like life, there are no right or wrong answers.

Lake is available now on PC via Steam, or Epic Games Store, on PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S. Lake: Season’s Greetings will be released on PC and several other platforms this holiday season. More info about the precise release date and launch platforms will be revealed in the coming months.

Follow Lake on Twitter, Facebook, and visit the official website, for more updates. 

For more updates from Whitethorn Games, follow the publisher on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Twitch, join the official Whitethorn Games Discord, and visit https://whitethorngames.com.

A press kit including art, screenshots, logos, and trailers can be found here: https://cozygames.pub/Lake-Press-Kit. 

To learn more about the accessibility features available for Lake, visit: https://whitethorngames.com/lake/accessibility. 

About Gamious

We are Gamious, a game developer based in Haarlem, The Netherlands. We love to create original and accessible games with pure gameplay – games we love to play ourselves. We either self-publish, work with publishers, or a mix between these two, to get the games to the right platforms. For more information, visit: https://www.gamious.com. 

About Whitethorn Games

We’re an indie game publisher focusing on pleasant, low-stress games that can be played in pieces, that require no special skills or knowledge and that anyone can pick up and play. We’re believers in accessibility, inclusion, and widening the audience that gets to play. We like to consider ourselves the defenders of easy games. While our games might challenge you, they’ll respect your time, they’ll make sure you can play, and most importantly, they’ll never punish you. Learn more at whitethorngames.com.

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PRESS CONTACT

Lisa Mior and Yared Admasse
Whitethorn Games
press@whitethorngames.com
whitethorngames.com