All of the teasing and rumors have proven true. Marvelous, Developers behind the original Harvest Moon, have announced plans for a Rune Factory 4 Special Edition, as well as confirming Rune Factory 5!

UPDATE: NEW INFORMATION

[UPDATE]: Marvelous Games have released a trailer, announcing the official release date for Rune Factory 4 Special, read more about that at this update post here.

During the most recent Nintendo Direct, the game company revealed a new trailer, showcasing Rune Factory 4 Special. This updated version of the game is a Nintendo Switch port, with HD graphics and additional content. The trailer, seen below, focuses almost entirely on the game.

But what has MY attention is the final few seconds, where they confirm that Rune Factory 5 is in development.

This has been something I’ve been keeping track of for a while now. I first noticed that Marvelous was doing SOMETHING when they were listed to attend E3 2018. But the real hype began after the development studio hinted at a new title in an existing franchise during a New Year’s greeting card.

What We Know About Rune Factory 4 Special

Being a remaster of the original game (which released on 3DS), the graphics will look largely the same, but with a higher definition. I noticed that the anime images of characters are animated, for example.

There are new and updated cutscenes.

Special also introduces a new game mode, called Newlywed Mode . From what I saw, this appears to be a collection of new mini-adventures centered around whoever the player chooses to marry.

. From what I saw, this appears to be a collection of new mini-adventures centered around whoever the player chooses to marry. Nintendo’s webpage for the game lists a new difficulty mode for “seasoned players.”

The Japanese website for the game lists the release date as Thursday, July 25, 2019. Though this may need to be confirmed. It might also be the Japanese release date, and not the U.S. or EU.

What We Know About Rune Factory 5

It’s a new iteration on the Rune Factory series

It’s set to release in 2020.

Yea, that’s it really. More will be revealed in time. I expect we will hear more around the winter season of 2019. Be patient, everyone. For now, check out the official website for Rune Factory 4 Special and Rune Factory 5.