Pocketpair Publishing Announces Clicky Islands: Everything We Know About the Incremental City-Builder

What Is Clicky Islands?

Clicky Islands is described by its publisher as an incremental city-builder — a hybrid genre that combines clicker/incremental mechanics with city-building simulation . GamesRadar+ described it as mixing Factorio-style automation with town building .

In the game, players are appointed governor by the king and tasked with nurturing a small island into a future kingdom . The core loop is satisfyingly simple: click to generate resources and watch numbers rise, then use those resources to build and expand your settlement . As the town grows, manual clicking gradually gives way to automation, letting players scale from a tiny settlement to a thriving, automated kingdom .

The game features a pixel-art island aesthetic and is single-player only .

Who Is Making It?

Clicky Islands is developed by Karrot Games, a two-person indie studio based in Poland . Pocketpair's publishing head John "Bucky" Buckley personally recommended the game on social media, calling it "a really fun mix of clicking, incremental, automation, and town building" and promising it is "very addictive" .

When Can You Play It?

A free Steam demo is available now on Steam . The full game is scheduled for release in 2026. Pricing has not yet been announced . The game will support Windows, SteamOS, and Linux, with text languages including English, German, Polish, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese . Pocketpair also announced that Clicky Islands will be shown at ChinaJoy 2026 .

A Growing Publishing Slate

Clicky Islands joins a rapidly expanding roster. By mid-2026, Pocketpair Publishing's catalogue had grown to seven announced titles . The biggest hit so far is the pirate survival game Windrose from developer Kraken Express, which sold over 1 million copies in its first week and peaked at more than 222,000 concurrent players on Steam .

Other announced titles include Never Grave, a Metroidvania roguelike; Cassette Boy, a Bitsummit 2024 award-winner; and an unannounced horror game from Surgent Studios (the team behind Tales of Kenzera: Zau) . The publisher has also signed games from teams in Uzbekistan, Poland, and the UK .

Why Fairer Contracts Matter

Pocketpair Publishing's stated philosophy, as articulated by publishing head John Buckley, is to offer indie developers fairer, more modern contract terms — specifically avoiding recoup clauses where the publisher recovers 100% of costs before the developer sees any revenue . Buckley has publicly sympathized with indie developers "desperate for funding" who could end up with "horrific contracts" .

The label was launched in early 2025, fueled by the enormous profits from Palworld, which sold over 15 million copies on Steam alone in its first month . Pocketpair says it aims to act more as a marketing and platform-support partner than a traditional hands-on publisher . Demand has been overwhelming: the label received hundreds of pitches within weeks of opening its doors .

What This Means for Indie Developers

For indie developers, the rise of Pocketpair Publishing represents a potential shift in how small studios secure funding. By using Palworld's financial success to back projects with more favorable terms, Pocketpair is positioning itself as an alternative to traditional publishers. Clicky Islands, a game made by just two developers in Poland, is a clear signal that the publisher is willing to bet on small teams with unusual, addictive ideas .