Spirit Crossing is a free-to-play life-sim MMO from Spry Fox, the studio behind Cozy Grove. Revealed during the Wholesome Direct, it blends cozy village-building with massively multiplayer online features, and its public playtest is live right now on Steam.
What is Spirit Crossing?
Set in the Crosslands, a storm-swept realm between the human and spirit worlds, Spirit Crossing drops players into a shared space where they build villages, befriend spirits and bears, decorate homes, and explore mountaintop ruins alongside other players. Spry Fox describes it as a game about "building friendships and community," and it leans hard into collaboration rather than competition.
The core activities span a wide range: harvesting flowers, fishing tournaments, playing musical instruments solo or in groups, solving puzzles, and weathering cursed storms for rewards. New mountaintop ruins appear every few days, so the world keeps shifting even if you play regularly. Every village grows collectively through a structure called the Waystation, where players organize, customize, and expand their shared settlement.
Friendship system and social features
Rather than dropping everyone into a single open chat, Spirit Crossing gates social tools behind a friendship progression system. As you level up individual friendships, you gain access to proximity chat, two-player emotes, teleportation to friends, and gift giving. The design seems aimed at keeping interactions positive and intentional, which makes sense for a studio that built its reputation on low-stress cozy games.
There is also a kindness mechanic tied to Waystation Beacons. Players leave offerings and perform acts of kindness to hold off the storms that sweep through the Crosslands. It functions as a shared community objective rather than an individual quest.
Platforms and pricing
Spirit Crossing is confirmed for Steam (PC), Android, and iOS. The Steam version is free to play and does not require a Netflix account. Mobile versions, however, are published by Netflix and do require a Netflix subscription to access.
Cross-platform multiplayer is supported, and Spry Fox notes that game progress does not transfer between Steam and mobile versions, so pick your platform carefully.
How to join the playtest
The public playtest is live on Steam right now. Head to the Spirit Crossing Steam page, scroll to the green "Request Access" box below the screenshots, and request an invite. Steam playtests are free and separate from any future purchase or subscription. On mobile, the playtest requires a Netflix account.
Spry Fox recommends inviting friends (four is the suggested group size) to get the most out of the collaborative features during testing.
Release window
There is no confirmed release date beyond a 2026 window. Given the playtest is already public and the feature set appears fairly developed, a full launch later this year seems plausible, but Spry Fox has not committed to a specific month.
For players tracking other upcoming life sims, Spirit Crossing joins a growing list of genre entries this year. Games like Moonlight Peaks and Monster Fantasy are expanding what life sims can look like, and Spirit Crossing's MMO angle sets it apart from most of the field.
Source: Sims Community via Google News - The Sims 4