PC Gaming

"Cozy" games warrant a label of their own because just browsing "simulation" or "management" returns as many Frostpunks and Overcookeds as Stardew Valleys and Dave the Divers, and while these are ostensibly the same genre, they're targeting people who want wildly different things from their games. Even the existing "casual" label doesn't fit, because that's meant more for short-session games that you can pick up and put down, well, casually - these games can still be fast-paced and stressful, and you want a cozy game for a nice long zen session.

As for its rising popularity, I think that's also due in part to how the gaming market adapts to the lives of its audience. Shit is stressful right now, and a lot more people just want to chill lately, so more of these games are getting made and growing popular.

Is there a word you think describes the category better, that you'd hate seeing less?

We can't ever seem to have too many third-person action games, cozy games aren't nearly as numerous as that.

I immediately got a sense of what kind of game it was, works for me.