What is Animula Nook? Animula Nook (粒粒的小人国) is an upcoming free-to-play cozy life simulation game from LilliLandia Games (银之心工作室), a studio under Tencent Games, set in a miniature world called Minietopia built on top of an ordinary desk. It is confirmed for PC (Steam & Epic), macOS, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2, and has not released on any platform yet.
Pre-launch notice: No release date has been announced. The only public build so far was a closed PC alpha that ran 19–30 March 2026 and was wiped afterwards.
This page answers the question. For everything else — guides, characters, platforms, test dates and gift codes — start from the Animula Nook Wiki home page.
The core concept
You play as a Wishweaver (心愿者) — a person who has unexpectedly shrunk down to about 5cm tall. The developers have said the name comes from a classical Chinese blessing meaning may all your wishes come true. From your new miniature perspective, everything around you transforms:
- A clock becomes an armchair
- A bottle cap becomes a dinner plate
- A lollipop becomes a giant hammer
- An ordinary desk becomes a vast, living world
The game’s slogan captures it: “小小的我，自在地活” — Small me, living freely.
What do you actually do?
The official Steam description sets out four pillars — craft, grow, style, explore — inside a sandbox with no fixed goals or forced schedules.
🏡 Shrink things and build
Animula Nook gives you a shrink gun that miniaturises full-size desk items into building materials. Chocolate bars become walls; a glasses case becomes a sofa. Milk cartons become houses, teacups become cafés and spice jars become glowing little shops. You start on a desk and expand outward to windowsills, cabinets and vivarium interiors. → Homestead building guide
🌱 Farm, gather and cook
Grow giant crops and flowers on your balcony, and gather the sensory resources a tiny person notices — sunlight, raindrops, breezes and scents. Cooking is a confirmed system, and the developers have said crops can be sold, kept as decoration or turned into food, with no forced planting choices. → Farming guide · Resources guide
👗 Style your OOTD
An Outfit of the Day system with a granular slot list — hair, tops, bottoms, socks, shoes, hats, plus accessory slots for hair, face, earrings, necklaces, hands and back, and handheld items. Minies have favourite colours and styles and react to what you wear. → OOTD guide
🎵 Form a band
Eight playable instruments, so you can start a band with your Minie neighbours.
🗺️ Explore Wupa Woods
Wupa Woods (乌帕大森林) is the confirmed first exploration ground beyond your homestead, containing the Floral Sea — a tulip field with ladybugs — and the Tunnel in the Woods. → Wupa Woods guide
⚔️ Dark Star Abyss
For players who want a challenge, the Dark Star Abyss (暗星深井) is described as an optional co-op dungeon with light combat and roguelite elements. It is not required to enjoy the main content.
The Minies — your tiny neighbours
The heart of Animula Nook is its cast of Minies — Minietopia’s original inhabitants, designed across four races:
- Starmates (星友足) — Human-like, friendly
- Boobos (卜卜族) — Cute and animal-like
- Insouls (因索族) — Mechanical and tech-styled
- Weirca (危咔族) — Wildly imaginative designs
Officially, each Minie is an individual: its own personality, favourite foods, colours and styles, a friend circle, a bespoke story, daily habits — and memory. They remember your first meeting, react emotionally to food you cook, and give thoughtful gifts back. Deepen a bond enough and, with suitable housing, you can convince one to move in.
The March 2026 alpha included roughly 50 Minies. Per the developers’ pre-launch materials, the launch roster is around 100 Minies, with 1.5 million words of dialogue, 90+ expression animations and 80+ life-scenario performances.
→ Meet all the Minies · The Insoul race
Your companion: Wupa (乌帕)
Before you meet the Minies, you’ll have Wupa — a lucky cat-like creature who becomes your companion from day one. Inspired by real stray animals, Wupa is a symbol of good fortune in Minietopia. After the alpha the team confirmed a Wupa companionship system among the features in development.
A living world
The developers have confirmed plans to sync Minietopia loosely to the real world: a day/night cycle, seasonal change, weather events including auroras and shooting stars, and commemorations tied to real-world dates and festivals. A photography system is also in development.
Not quite an Animal Crossing clone
| Animula Nook | Animal Crossing | |
|---|---|---|
| Perspective | Shrunken human on a real desk | Anthropomorphic animal village |
| Minies | ~100 NPCs with deep dialogue | ~400 villagers, less story depth |
| Combat | Optional (Dark Star Abyss) | None |
| Social | Layered co-op, “no forced social” | Mostly solo |
| Price | Free to play | Paid |
→ Full comparison · More games in the genre
Playing together
Steam lists Online Co-op, Cross-Platform Multiplayer and Family Sharing. Confirmed activities include visiting friends’ homesteads (with permission controls), co-op exploration and group activities — all optional. → Multiplayer guide
Pricing at a glance
Free to play, listed with in-app purchases on Steam. Full breakdown: is Animula Nook free?
Launch status
No release date has been announced. Everything confirmed, plus the full testing timeline, is tracked on the release date page.
Confirmed platforms
PC (Steam & Epic), macOS, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2. Mobile is not officially confirmed. Details: platforms guide. Specs: system requirements.
FAQ
What do you actually do in Animula Nook? You shrink desk objects into building materials and construct a home, grow giant crops, cook, style a daily outfit, play instruments with your neighbours, and explore Wupa Woods. The official Steam page frames it as four pillars: craft, grow, style your OOTD, and explore.
What are Wishweavers in Animula Nook? Wishweaver is the developers’ name for the player character — people who have shrunk down to live in Minietopia. The team has said the name comes from a classical Chinese blessing meaning “may all your wishes come true”.
What languages will Animula Nook support? The Steam store page currently lists 10 languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Thai, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish (Latin America).