Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Gets Free Trial on Switch Online
The trial pairs with a 40% discount that Marvelous calls the lowest price ever for the game, a push to convert trial players into buyers during the series' 30th anniversary year.
Key Facts
- The Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar simultaneous trial runs from August 24 at 12:00 to August 30 at 17:59 for Nintendo Switch Online members.
- The trial is exclusive to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, and save data from the trial can be transferred to the purchased full version.
- A sale from August 24 to September 6 offers 40% off, with the Switch version at 3,960 yen and the Switch 2 version at 4,620 yen.
- Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is based on the 2008 Nintendo DS game Story of Seasons: Welcome! Wind Bazaar and released in August 2025.
- The game is available on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Reporting from 3 sources: 4Gamer.net, GAME Watch (Impress), Denfaminicogamer.
Marvelous announced on August 21 that the latest entry in the Story of Seasons series, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, will be the next title in Nintendo's simultaneous trial event for Nintendo Switch Online members. The trial runs from August 24 at 12:00 to August 30 at 17:59, letting subscribers play the full game for free during that window. The game, released in August 2025, is a farm management simulation set in Soyokaze Town, a community known for its weekly bazaar that has fallen into decline. Players grow crops, care for animals, and sell goods at the bazaar to revive the town and aim for the world's greatest bazaar. It is based on the 2008 Nintendo DS game Story of Seasons: Welcome! Wind Bazaar, with updated graphics and systems for current consoles. Alongside the trial, a sale runs from August 24 to September 6, offering 40% off the Switch version at 3,960 yen and the Switch 2 version at 4,620 yen. Save data from the trial can transfer to the purchased full version.
The trial is part of a broader push tied to 2026 being the double anniversary of the Story of Seasons series' 30th year and the Rune Factory series' 20th year. Marvelous is asking fans to share memories on social media with the hashtags "#牧場物語 30th" and "#ルンファク 20th" and is pointing players to a combined anniversary special site. The game is available on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, though the trial is limited to Switch and Switch 2 owners with a paid Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Those in the free trial period of the online service can also join. The sale covers more than the base game: the Digital Deluxe Edition drops from 7,700 yen to 4,620 yen, the Premium Digital Deluxe Edition from 9,500 yen to 5,700 yen, and the Switch 2 Edition from 7,700 yen to 4,620 yen, all at 40% off. The game introduces the glider, described as the first aerial movement method in the series, letting players reach normally inaccessible places. It also marks the first time all major event scenes are fully voiced. The partner candidates include Shelfa (Manaka Iwami), Yuris (Yuma Uchida), Diana (Yumiri Hanamori), and Arata (Taiki Hamano), with townsfolk voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto, Kana Ueda, Satoshi Tsuruoka, and Hiromi Hirata. The game is rated CERO A.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.