{"rewrite":{"id":"r_b15b742c94b690c0013976c0","clusterId":"c_5efd333c07cd1fa3d817b8b1","slug":"hawthorn-demo-launches-on-steam-for-next-fest","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Hawthorn Demo Launches on Steam for Next Fest","summary":"NEARstudios released a demo of its open-world survival RPG Hawthorn on Steam for Next Fest, available until June 22. The game, set in a Victorian fairy-tale forest with anthropomorphic animal characters, focuses on village building and exploration. The demo is an early prototype for feedback.","whyItMatters":"The demo gives the first public hands-on look at the debut title from a studio founded by veterans of Fallout, Elder Scrolls, and The Last of Us, following a successful Kickstarter.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eNEARstudios, a studio founded by developers who worked on Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Starfield, League of Legends, The Last of Us, Uncharted, and Bioshock, released a demo of its debut title Hawthorn on Steam on June 12. The open-world survival RPG casts players as anthropomorphic animals like owls and mice in a forest inspired by Victorian-era fairy tales. The demo, available until June 22 as part of Steam Next Fest, is an early prototype focused on village-building mechanics. Players can construct houses, farm, fish, and assign tasks to NPCs, while hostile forces and random events threaten the village. The full game is planned for early access release in October 2026 on PC.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Hawthorn's demo is an early prototype, not a vertical slice. NEARstudios is treating Next Fest as QA, not marketing.","twitterPost":"Hawthorn's demo is a prototype for feedback, not a polished vertical slice. NEARstudios is using Next Fest as QA.","threadsPost":"Hawthorn's demo is explicitly labeled an early prototype for feedback. That is an unusual framing for a Next Fest demo, where most studios show a polished vertical slice. NEARstudios is treating the festival as a playtest window, not a marketing beat.","newsletterBlurb":"NEARstudios, a studio of veterans from Fallout, Elder Scrolls, and The Last of Us, released a demo of its debut title Hawthorn on Steam for Next Fest. The open-world survival RPG lets players build a village as anthropomorphic animals in a Victorian fairy-tale forest. The demo runs until June 22, with early access planned for October.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20260615-449678/\",\"title\":\"Multiplayer Open-World Animal Survival 'Hawthorn' Steam Demo Now Available. A Village-Building \\u0026 Forest Life Game by Veterans Including Former 'Skyrim' Developer\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":3948,"outputTokens":574,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1781488439,"createdAt":"2026-06-15T01:46:00.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-06-15T01:49:57.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-15T01:49:57.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_5efd333c07cd1fa3d817b8b1","canonicalTitle":"マルチ対応オープンワールド動物サバイバル『Hawthorn』Steam体験版配信中。元『スカイリム』開発者などベテランが放つ、動物の村づくり＆森暮らしゲーム","representativeArticleId":"a_3f36fea66ba02d8f42b5a1de","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Hawthorn\"],\"studios\":[\"NEARstudios\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"release\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-06-15T01:00:06.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-06-16T02:46:23.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-16T02:52:25.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Denfaminicogamer","url":"https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/?p=1557110","title":"ネズミ、フクロウ、カワウソなどかわいい動物たちの村再建ゲーム『Hawthorn』のプロトタイプ体験版がSteamにて配信中。『スカイリム』のリードデザイナーも参加する、ベテラン開発者たちの意欲作"},{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20260615-449678/","title":"マルチ対応オープンワールド動物サバイバル『Hawthorn』Steam体験版配信中。元『スカイリム』開発者などベテランが放つ、動物の村づくり＆森暮らしゲーム"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Hawthorn"],"studios":["NEARstudios"],"people":[],"type":"release","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["NEARstudios released a demo of its open-world survival RPG Hawthorn on Steam on June 12.","The demo is available until June 22 as part of Steam Next Fest.","The game is set in a Victorian fairy-tale forest with anthropomorphic animal characters.","The demo is an early prototype focused on village-building mechanics.","The full game is planned for early access release in October 2026 on PC."]}