The Super Famicom game that started the series now known in English-speaking markets as STORY OF SEASONS was released in Japan on August 6, 1996 — making August 6, 2026, its 30th anniversary.

The game centers on caring for animals and growing crops and also features romance and marriage involving the town’s female characters. Famitsu has described it as “a pioneer of farming and ranching simulation games” (translated from Japanese). The series now spans more than 30 titles.

Yasuhiro Wada was responsible for the original concept and production. He is reported to have been on staff at the original title’s publisher at the time. Wada’s subsequent career is said to have unfolded as follows: he reportedly became president and representative director of Marvelous Interactive Inc. in 2005, stepping down in 2010. That same year, he reportedly moved to Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. as COO. In 2011, he is said to have founded his own company, TOYBOX Inc., becoming its president.

The publisher merged with the video game division of Victor Entertainment, Inc. in October 1996 — two months after the game’s release — to become Victor Interactive Software Inc. After further name changes, that company became Marvelous Inc., today’s rights holder.

For a long time, Natsume Inc. sold the series in North America under the title Harvest Moon. The turning point came in 2014. Marvelous shifted its North American operations to its own local subsidiary, XSEED Games. However, Natsume is said to have retained the Harvest Moon trademark, and as a result Marvelous’s legitimate sequels ended up being released in North America under a different name, STORY OF SEASONS. Natsume has continued to release its own titles under the Harvest Moon name since then.

The latest installment, STORY OF SEASONS: Grand Bazaar, is a full remake of Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, a game released in 2008. The Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC (Steam) versions launched on August 28, 2025, with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions following on May 28, 2026.

Marvelous’s North American subsidiary is running a fan-art contest to mark the 30th anniversary. Entries are being accepted from July 9, 2026, through noon Pacific Daylight Time on August 9. Only residents of the United States and Canada are eligible, and works made with generative AI are disqualified. The spin-off series Rune Factory will mark its 20th anniversary in 2026.

On July 31, 2026, Marvelous announced that it had ended development of a new mobile title in the STORY OF SEASONS series, which it had been working on with a partner.