Cozy games are nothing new, but their recent flourishing – and the increased desire of developers to broaden the genre – invites questions. What exactly is a cozy game? And is this subgenre a cul-de-sac, or a highway?
Some developers view these games as offshoots of the life-sim genre, which goes back to at least 1985's Little Computer People, before an explosion via The Sims (2000). But cozy games are generally regarded as featuring cute characters, often anthropomorphic animals or child-like humans, who engage in player activities such as farming, gathering, growing and nurturing, with a vague goal of creative personalization and in-game socialization.
But coziness is broader than farming and village-planning. The essential nature of cozy gaming is that of helping other people through non-violent means, often by nurture and generosity. Self-expression is core to the games' progression goals, which tend to be open-ended.