The Coral Island Switch 2 version arrives this winter, and Stairway Games is launching it alongside Update 1.4, Kids Grow Up, a free update that finally lets your children grow from babies into teenagers. The update hits PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S at the same time, so current farmers get it too.
Coral Island on Switch 2
If you haven’t played it, Coral Island is a laid-back farming sim set on a tropical island: grow crops, raise animals, get to know the folks in Starlet Town, and dive under the waves to visit the Merfolk Kingdom. The Switch 2 version supports solo play or multiplayer with up to four players, with cross-play across supported platforms. Stairway Games and publisher Balor Games revealed it during The MIX Fall Showcase and say the exact date comes closer to launch.
One catch for longtime fans: the original Switch version is cancelled. Stairway says strict platform and performance limits made it unworkable. Kickstarter backers who pledged for Switch can switch to a Switch 2 key at no extra cost, or pick Steam, PS5 or Xbox Series X|S instead. Backers have until November 5 to confirm, and anyone who doesn’t answer gets a Steam key by default.
What Kids Grow Up adds
Update 1.4 lets your children actually grow up, through four life stages: baby, toddler, school-age and teenager. At school age they’re about as old as town kids like Zoe, and as they get older they pick up hobbies such as music, sports, baking or gaming, which shape who they become as teens.
Your spouse gets new parenting dialogue and family cutscenes too, and the other kids in Starlet Town, Archie included, grow into teenagers with new stories of their own. There’s also a new cutscene inspired by Tedak Siten, a Javanese tradition that celebrates a child’s first steps, which many of the developers grew up with.
The smaller stuff
Update 1.4 also brings controller vibration across the board: HD Rumble on Switch 2, DualSense haptics on PS5, rumble on Xbox and the Xbox PC app, and haptics on Steam Deck, with Xbox and DualSense controllers supported on Steam. The cooking menu can now filter recipes by buffs or by what villagers like as gifts, which saves a lot of guessing. And there are fishing bobbers, little floating decorations you unlock through Fishing Mastery and pick up at the Beach Shack. Stairway says more quality-of-life and lighting changes will be detailed on launch day.
Coral Island is $29.99 on Steam and also out on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Switch 2 pricing hasn’t been announced yet.
For more Switch 2 news, check our Nintendo hub.
Kids who actually grow up and a portable island to farm on. Winter can’t come soon enough.