Animal Crossing Gets Four Player Co-Op Treatment In New Steam Game You Can Try For Free

Pao Pao, a new cozy Steam game, is already playable through a free demo and aims to bring a multiplayer twist to the Animal Crossing-style formula. Set in a lively seaside town, the game lets players run their own restaurant—either solo or with up to four friends—by cooking meals for customers, serving them, and upgrading the establishment. It also blends farming and fishing for ingredients, town exploration, and a range of minigames including Dance Dance Revolution-like challenges, basketball, water gun and food fights, and even boat racing. Pao Pao enters Early Access on October 26, 2026, after delays from an earlier 2025 plan, with a projected 6 to 12 months before a full launch and console release on Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation.