- New work by Belgian indie studio Happy Volcano, cyberpunk-inspired diorama building
- Gaining Attention as a Steam Next Fest Demo… User Anticipation Rises Ahead of Official Release on July 30
- Freely arrange buildings, alleys, and even citizens… A relaxing game to create your own small neon city
Belgian indie studio Happy Volcano is releasing ‘Midnight Moments’, a healing diorama building game currently under development, on Steam on July 30.
Midnight Moments is a cyberpunk-themed diorama building game where you can personally decorate rainy alleys, neon-lit streets, and cozy neighborhoods.
It is a work that focuses on freely creating a space without goals, time limits, or failure conditions, and appreciating the scenery unfolding within it, and it garnered the attention of healing game fans through the Steam Next Fest demo.
My own little city illuminated by neon
Players can build structures and connect alleyways to customize everything from small shops to entire streets and neighborhoods to their liking.
In the completed space, props such as streetlights, signs, and flowerpots, as well as citizens, can be placed, allowing for the creation of a village where each person’s unique story comes alive.
It is possible to style every space to suit your taste, from a quiet rooftop garden and a bustling alley to a convenience store lit up alone in the rain.
The immersion created by lo-fi visuals and the sound of rain
The game captures a warm cyberpunk world by combining a neon-lit city with a lo-fi sensibility.
In particular, the combination of rain-soaked streets, neon lights, and charming buildings stands out for reinterpreting the cold and bleak image of existing cyberpunk works with a warm sensibility.
The intricately rendered dioramas, gentle background music, and the sound of rain create a relaxing atmosphere just by admiring the space. As there are no goals or time limits, it is a healing game perfect for leisurely enjoyment while listening to music or podcasts.
“A game you’ll keep staring at for a while”… A project created by two developers and an intern
Midnight Moments is a small-scale project involving two developers and one intern from Happy Volcano.
Game Director David Prinsmel said, “I wanted to create a small, beautiful, and truly relaxing game,” and introduced it as “a work that captures the leisure of personally building a small corner of the city and gazing at the finished landscape for a while.”
Reflecting this development philosophy, the game is structured as a sandbox that focuses on the experience of freely creating and appreciating rather than competition or achieving goals.
Gaining buzz with the Steam Next Fest demo… Attracting attention from international media
Midnight Moments first met the public through a demo unveiled at Steam Next Fest last June.
Overseas game media also showed a positive reaction. Kotaku selected ‘Midnight Moments’ as one of the notable demos at Next Fest, and The Escapist described it as “a game that offers a relaxing break with a lo-fi vibe instead of the bleakness of cyberpunk.”
In addition, various overseas media outlets, including GamesHedge and Back2Gaming, reported on the release and highlighted it as a highly anticipated healing game.
An award-winning Belgian studio, a love project crafted by a small team
Happy Volcano is an indie game development company based in Leuven, Belgium, and operates a remote work-centered development environment.
It received investment from Hiro Capital and game industry legend Sir Ian Livingstone, and has released titles such as ‘You Suck at Parking’, ‘Modulus: Factory Automation’, and ‘The Almost Gone’.
Midnight Moments is a heartfelt project developed by a small team focusing on atmosphere and sentiment, separate from these large-scale initiatives. As it prioritizes the “joy of creating a space where people want to linger” over competition or growth, attention is focused on whether it can offer a new form of relaxation to users who prefer healing games.
Information regarding ‘Midnight Moments’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Happy Volcano (Leuven, Belgium) |
| Publisher | Happy Volcano (Self-published) |
| Genre | Cozy Cyberpunk Diorama Building / Sandbox |
| Release platform | PC (Steam) |
| Release date | July 30, 2026 |
| demo | Free demo of itch.io available on Steam (to be revealed at Next Fest in June 2026) |
| core system | Building construction, alley composition, placement of props and citizens, free play without goals or timers |
| Development scale | Small team of 2 developers + 1 intern |
| investment firm | Hiro Capital, Sir Ian Livingstone |
| Previous work | You Suck at Parking, Modulus: Factory Automation, The Almost Gone |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
