Harvest Moon’s creator has gone fishing. Natsume has announced that it’s partnering with Imagineer to bring AYAKASHI Fishing Folktails, known in Japan as Boku to Tsuri Nikki, to Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch in the Americas and Europe in mid-2027. It’s developed by TOYBOX, the studio led by Yasuhiro Wada, the man who created Harvest Moon in the mid-’90s.
There’s a neat bit of history in that partnership. Natsume is the publisher that brought Wada’s original farming series to the West in the ’90s. For the past decade, Natsume’s own Harvest Moon games and the Story of Seasons series descended from Wada’s originals have gone separate ways. Now Natsume is publishing a Wada game again, just not a farming one.
Don’t expect a simple fishing minigame, either. This is a full fishing game that happens to be haunted.
A colour-draining curse and a crew of spirits
After a mysterious dream, a young man sets off on a freshwater fishing journey alongside a group of Ayakashi, supernatural beings from Japanese folklore. A curse is draining the colour from the world, and the only way to lift it is to catch the Cursed Lords that live in each river and lake, while helping your spirit companions with problems of their own along the way.
It’s a premise that suits Wada’s style. His work has always been about small rhythms and rituals: tending crops, raising animals, and now reading water and waiting for a bite.
The fishing side
Natsume’s description calls it “cozy yet intense realistic” fishing, and the feature list backs that up.
- 100+ species, mixing real fish with folklore monsters. A tigerfish is one thing; a Half-Tigerfish is quite another.
- Eight fishing spots across rivers, lakes and ponds.
- Research matters. You’ll study habitats, consult your Fish Encyclopedia and choose your gear, bait and timing, including night and rain fishing.
- Active reeling. You work the rod in response to the fish’s energy rather than mashing a button.
- Stream fishing. Alongside floats and lures, there’s a traditional stream rod with no reel at all.
- Gold Medals for landing the biggest catches, with tips from your Ayakashi companions on where to find them.
That stream rod is the most interesting detail. Reel-less rods are part of Japan’s traditional mountain-stream fishing culture, and including one suggests TOYBOX is aiming for authenticity rather than a generic arcade fishing game.
Who it’s for
If you enjoyed the fishing in Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing but wished it went deeper, this looks like the natural next step. It also fits Natsume’s own back catalogue: the publisher is behind the long-running Reel Fishing series, so it knows how to sell a dedicated fishing game.
TOYBOX’s recent track record is promising. The studio co-developed Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid, a nostalgic summer-holiday adventure that reached the West on Switch and PC in 2024 and was generally well received, albeit with some criticism of its Switch performance.
Release details
| Detail | What’s confirmed |
|---|---|
| Western release | Mid-2027, Americas and Europe |
| Platforms | Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch |
| Publisher (West) | Natsume, with Imagineer |
| Developer | TOYBOX |
| Japanese title | Boku to Tsuri Nikki |
Natsume hasn’t announced an exact date, pricing or physical editions yet, and Australia isn’t named in the announcement. We’ll add Australian details once they’re announced.
For more Switch 2 release news, see our Nintendo coverage. And if Natsume’s farming side is more your thing, here’s the full Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea DLC roadmap.