Hello, lovely players! I’m Ya Mao, and here’s the Jul. game development update for Shiba Sweet, which will also be our final entry! I am thrilled to announce that the official release date is set for September 17 (Americas & Europe) / September 18 (Asia). The game unlocks simultaneously worldwide; the date difference is purely due to time zone variances.

This month's game development progress includes crafting a new launch trailer, completing two full playthrough playtests, continuous debugging to polish the user experience, and updating my official website with a brand-new Press Kit.

During the planning phase, I storyboarded the video and recorded all necessary gameplay footage. After writing and finalizing the voiceover script, I completed the voice recording, video editing, and subtitling. As planned, the final trailer will be released in five languages: English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

For playtesting, I put myself in the player’s shoes and did two complete playthroughs. That means no debug shortcuts, just completing the entire game using standard player speed and decision-making. I really love how Shiba Sweet is designed to let players speed up or slow down at their own comfortable pace while experiencing their growth as a pastry chef.

Throughout testing, I kept a quick running list of bugs to fix in the game engine. I resolved numerous issues, including missing localization characters, missing sound effects, audio reset bugs, button transparency and line-break errors, and incorrect display logic for the bento list.

Near the end of the month, I dedicated time to review the official website. I compiled materials and created a dedicated Press Kit page, consolidating key information such as game overviews, release dates, and media assets onto a single page for easy press access.

For a long time, I worked alone behind my computer screen, fully dedicated to making an adorable, heart-warming Shiba game. My dream was to hand over a freshly baked game to players and offer them a delightful, comforting experience.

I will always remember bringing the game demo to a physical gaming expo for the first time last year. Seeing the sparkle in players' eyes as they played and hearing them exclaim how cute the Shibas and desserts were deeply moved me as a developer. Although I always knew I would finish the game, that very moment gave me the ultimate fuel to carry it across the finish line.

Thank you for reading all the way here, and a massive thank you to everyone who has followed my journey! While the devlogs for Shiba Sweet end here, ideas for my next game are already brewing. Please consider following Maowoo Games on Steam so you’ll get notified when my next title drops.

Since we all share a deep love for games, I'm sure we will meet again!

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Follow my development journey:

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Maowoo-studio

TikTok Channel: https://www.tiktok.com/@maowoo_studio

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shiba__sweet/

Hello, lovely players! I’m Ya Mao, and here’s the Jul. game development update for Shiba Sweet.

This month's game development progress includes setting up Steam Achievements, adding a Tips page to the Pause Menu, introducing a Bookmark feature to the Recipe Book, adding free coffee to the Chef Star Challenges, and implementing a Kitchenware Rotation feature.

In addition to reviewing and redrawing the missing achievement icons, I’ve linked the game's code with the Steam system. Now, fulfilling specific conditions during gameplay will trigger Steam achievements, giving you a cute, shiny notification in real time!

Based on feedback from previous playtests and the demo, I noticed some players were confused about how to mix ingredients on the table or handle certain controls. To fix this, I added a Tips page. Players can now open the pause menu to quickly browse all unlocked tips for a smoother gameplay experience.

The Recipe Book bookmark feature lets players pin the pages they need based on their playstyle. As more recipes are unlocked, this makes it much faster to jump straight to new dessert pages without having to flip through from the beginning every time.

In the higher-level Chef Star Challenges, as different grades of coffee beans are unlocked, players can grab a cup of free coffee provided on the field before starting. This temporary speed boost cuts down running time when fetching ingredients, helping you beat the cute challenges faster!

This was another highly requested feature from playtest feedback. Since the kitchen camera has a fixed angle, some players felt that rotating kitchenware to face our Shiba Inu character would make the cooking animations look much more natural, even if the tools were already functional from any direction.

July’s development is back on track! My recovery is going well, giving me more time to plan and execute tasks. I've also been able to dive into focused playtesting to log bugs that need fixing.

The release window on our Steam page has been updated to 2026, meaning the full version of the game will meet everyone in just a few months! I hope playing this cozy and adorable Shiba game brings you warm and lovely memories.

Thank a lot for reading this far. See you in next month’s devlog!

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Follow my development journey:

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Maowoo-studio

TikTok Channel: https://www.tiktok.com/@maowoo_studio

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shiba__sweet/