It’s felt like an eternity, however, Starsand Island launches into Early Access next week! This is one of the cosiest life simulation games launching in 2026 and one that will be a firm favourite with many!
This post aims to be a handy guide to not only tell you what Starsand Island is all about, but to also answer some of the questions you may have. I will have more content planned for the game once it officially launches, and personally, I can’t wait to dive into the game and live a new kind of island life alongside everyone!
What is Starsand Island?
Starsand Island is the latest release from Seed Sparkle Lab (also known as Seed Labs) and it’s a cosy farming life simulation game.
Players will be able to embark on a one of a kind adventure. You return to Starsand Island for the first time in a number of years. It’s your home and where you grew up as a childhood. Quickly, you find yourself readjusting to the beautiful island life and reconnecting with local residents who you’ve known for years.
While living out your days on the island, you can take part in a variety of different activities and learn new skills. From farming, fishing, raising animals and getting to know just how quirky the locals can be. Additionally, you can hone in and become a master of DIY with the various building and customization features and really make your Starsand Island one of a kind!
There really is so much more than meets the eye just waiting to be discovered in Starsand Island. Places to uncover, secrets to solve, stories to remember and making friends with Capybaras all just waiting for you, the player to experience.
So get ready, to switch from that chaotic 9-5 hustle and bustle and take the time on a picturesque and idyllic island setting packed full of stunning views, friends to make and memories to discover!
However, here are some more details about Starsand Island before you continue reading!
With multiple professions to master, there are various paths you can take to help you get there. For example with farming there are over one hundred different crops you can grow. You can also make use of exciting new hybridization features to breed one of a kind blossoms. As you continue to progress you can also unlock greenhouse to help you continue to work on your crops all year round.
With Crafting, there are a number of special machines and advanced tools to help you manage tasks such as mining, farming and logging. By automating some of these processes, this will give you more time to focus on other tasks, exploring the island and more.
Your player home will also have a number of subplots that you can unlock, and there will be additional home environments coming too. These include the Blue Beach, Cloudrest Lake and Windflute Island each with their own unique charm. You’ll also be able to craft a number of furniture pieces including those from the additional three hundred plus that have been added.
When it comes to raising animals and improving your ranching skill, you’ll be able to raise a number of different animals including cows, alpacas and more! With a number of new species and subspecies, you’ll be well-equipped to have the ultimate ranching experience. This also goes inline with the fishing profession, with multiple fish and creatures to discover, players will also have again a number of tools at their disposals to help them document all the different water creatures.
Cooking will see well over fifty different types of meals you can craft with some giving buffs that will change up your meals and gameplay.
You can’t forget exploration either! With new information comes news that bows will be making their way into the game with a number of arrow options to choose from when it comes to combat.
As for the Starsand Island world, the game will also see a new four season system introduced to help the world feel more alive. It’s already stunning as it many of us experienced during the limited time demo and this addition will enhance and make the experience even more immersive.
Ready for a little bit more information? I promise this is the last run!
Of the characters within Starsand Island, not only will you be able to build relationships with and more meaningful bonds but also uncover unique traits for each reflecting their character. As you build each relationship to reach maximum affection with the NPCs, you can also unlock a variety of unique dialogue lines and stories specific to that character. This also comes with a variety of full voice-overs too.
Exploring the island can become tiring if you are just walking around, however, that won’t be a problem when you have over forty different mounts to choose from. That’s not to mention the ability to really customize your character in a number of different fashions to match and suit your mood. As well as a colour swatch selection where you can truly pick what hair colour your character has too!
Lastly and circling back to the world of Starsand Island and exploration, the world will see new music performances where players can jump in and play from in-game sheet music. A Chinese New Year and Summer Beach Festival seasonal events are on the way too. Additionally, for those who played the demo, the Moonlit Forest will have even more camps and yes, even more epic bosses to take on too.
That’s just to start with, the Seed Sparkle Lab have even more planned for the game post launch!
When is Starsand Island Releasing?
Starsand Island is launching in two phases. Firstly, into Early Access.
The worldwide Early Access launch for Starsand Island is on Wednesday 11th February 2026 on Steam. As detailed on the game’s official Discord, the launch time should be approximately 9am PST.
The second phase of the release will be for when Starsand Island leaves Early Access status. While no specific date/time frame has been set, I imagine full details will emerge in the next few months.
Which Platform is Starsand Island Releasing on?
During the Early Access launch, the game will be available on Steam.
However, Starsand Island has planned releases for Xbox, Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 coming again in the near future.
Xbox Game Pass Preview
In regard to Starsand Island releasing via Game Pass for PC and Console, it has been announced via Xbox social media platforms that it is launching via Game Pass Ultimate soon. However, details about this are not completely confirmed at the time of writing this post. Although this was briefly addressed on Discord, the situation seems to be slightly confusing, with uncertainty whether the game is launching via Game Pass on the same day as the Steam Early Access or not. I’ll update this section with more information about this as it becomes available.
How Much Will Starsand Island Cost?
When Starsand Island launches into Early Access on Steam, there will be two versions available to purchase. These being the Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition.
Standard Edition: Early Access Price $27.93
- Starsand Island Base Game
- Chinese New Year Furniture Set
- Neo-Chinese Outfit
Deluxe Edition: Early Access Price $41.93
- Starsand Island Base Game
- Chinese New Year Furniture Set
- Neo-Chinese Outfit
- Classical Furniture Set
- Elegant Formal Outfit
- Pumpkin Carriage
As per the information shared via the Starsand Island Discord, The Team have confirmed alongside Steam that regional pricing will be implemented for the game. This will mean that the pricing, as shown above, will not be a direct conversion. Once the Starsand Island Steam page officially launches with the game, the exact price for your location will show.
System Requirements
Here are the minimum and recommended system requirements for playing Starsand Island, as listed on the Steam page for the game.
Minimum Requirements:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 or later
- PROCESSOR: Intel i3-2120 or similar
- MEMORY: 8 GB RAM
- GRAPHICS: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 or similar
- DIRECTX: Version 11
- NETWORK: Broadband Internet connection
- STORAGE: 20 GB available space
Recommended Requirements:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 or later
- PROCESSOR: Intel i7-11700K
- MEMORY: 16 GB RAM
- GRAPHICS: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or similar
- DIRECTX: Version 11
- NETWORK: Broadband Internet connection
- STORAGE: 20 GB available space
How To Stay Up to Date with Starsand Island
The best way to keep up with all the latest news and information from Starsand Island is via the game’s Twitter/X account or the official Starsand Island Discord. Both of these have been sharing regular updates around development of the game, events and more.
Personally, I’ve loved keeping up to date with news about the game via Discord, even more so that you can discuss with others about what you are looking forward to and excited about ahead of the game’s launch.
Ready to Set Sail?
With just a few more days until Starsand Island’s Early Access release, are you preparing for your new island adventure? Let me know what you think of the game and if you’ll be playing once it releases!
In the meantime, you can wishlist Starsand Island on Steam here.
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