Why It Matters
Seasonal events like Heartopia’s winter update drive player retention and generate in‑game revenue through token economies, making them critical for live‑service titles. Exclusive rewards encourage repeated play and deepen the game’s monetization strategy.
Key Takeaways
- •Winter birds appear near water outside town
- •Birds wear scarves or hats, fly away when approached
- •Event offers snowmen, ice skating, and Fashionwave Tokens
- •Snow Sedan costs 80,000 tokens, highest-priced item
- •Quests include Frostspore butterflies and egg hunts
Pulse Analysis
Seasonal events have become a cornerstone of live‑service titles, offering fresh objectives that keep players returning. Heartopia’s winter event, running through mid‑March, adds a distinct layer of exploration by introducing winter birds—ordinary avian NPCs dressed in scarves or hats that hover near water just outside town. Their tendency to flee at the slightest approach creates a subtle chase, encouraging players to master timing and camera control while completing photography quests. This blend of visual novelty and skill‑based hunting exemplifies how developers can repurpose existing assets for seasonal flair.
The event’s reward system revolves around Fashionwave Tokens, a seasonal currency earned through quests, mini‑games, and exploration. Players can spend tokens on themed cosmetics, with the most coveted prize being the Snow Sedan—a blue‑white vehicle priced at 80,000 tokens. While the high cost creates a long‑term grind, it also drives repeated engagement, as hunters chase elusive birds to boost token earnings. This token‑driven loop mirrors broader industry practices where limited‑time currencies incentivize both playtime and micro‑transactions, even in free‑to‑play ecosystems.
Heartopia’s cross‑platform launch on PC, Android, and iOS ensures the winter content reaches a diverse audience, reinforcing the trend of unified seasonal updates across devices. By tying exclusive items like the Snow Sedan to in‑game achievements rather than direct purchases, the developers balance monetization with player satisfaction, a strategy that can extend the game’s lifespan beyond its initial release. As more life‑simulation and city‑builder titles adopt similar event frameworks, the industry will likely see heightened competition for seasonal content that blends aesthetic charm with meaningful gameplay loops.
Winter Bird Locations in Heartopia
Published Feb 13, 2026, 10:45 AM EST
By Melissa Sarnowski – Melissa Sarnowski has been a game writer for over two years. While she's willing to dig into any game for an article, she heavily focuses on The Legend of Zelda, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, and The Sims content, having played games from each franchise since she was a child.
Heartopia has a winter event going on until mid‑March that includes various activities unique to the event. Of course, that also means that there are items that you'll only be able to get during this event. The problem is that you aren't always given the information you need to complete tasks easily, which leaves you wandering the map looking for specific creatures or items.
The winter birds are such creatures, as you aren't told what makes a winter bird different from a normal bird. It's a subtle difference, but also one that can be difficult to spot because they keep flying away when you try to get close.
Winter Birds Location
You'll be able to find winter birds in the area that's just outside of town, but before the streets that take you around the map. This means that you can find them in any part of that circle, but they're usually by water sources. You'll need to be careful, because these birds will fly away as soon as you get a little too close to them, making it difficult to spot if that's an actual winter bird or a normal bird.
The winter birds are the same birds that you normally see, but with a little scarf or hat added to them. It's quite cute, but not the easiest to spot at a glance. The nice part is that the color of the hat or scarf tends to stick out enough in comparison to the color of the bird. Still, it's best to avoid getting too close to these birds, because they'll fly away even if you don't feel close to them.
Winter Event Activities
In addition to completing quests that might ask you to find and photograph winter birds, you'll end up with other quests as well. One wants you to catch Frostspore‑infected butterflies, which have a pink color to them that the butterfly types usually don't. You can also take quests that have you plant winter seeds to grow, or one that sends you on an egg hunt, which can be rather frustrating on its own as you work to find the eggs.
There are also activities that are independent of quests that you can participate in. In the middle of town, there are piles of snow that you can turn into snowmen. You can also have fun in the snow by making snow angels. Otherwise, you could decide to play the penguin drum as part of the Snow Concert if you enjoy music, or bring your own instrument.
Perhaps the winter activity that's the most fun is ice skating in the ice rink that's now located in Onsen Mountain for the duration of the event. You can perform tricks as you skate and increase your ice skating level as a result. It's also fun to enter the rink by using the snow slide that takes you straight onto the ice.
As you participate in the winter event, you earn Fashionwave Tokens, which can be used to purchase items in the Fashionwave Store. While you'll need quite a few tokens to get any of the items, they follow the theme of penguins and winter through the use of snowflake designs, penguin drawings, and plenty of blue and white color schemes.
The most expensive item available is the Snow Sedan, which costs 80,000 Fashionwave Tokens. It's an adorable vehicle that's blue and white with some snowflakes and a penguin on it. It'll take you a while to earn enough tokens for it, but the Snow Sedan is worth the time, even if that means you'll have to chase down winter birds and hope they don't fly away from you in Heartopia.
Game Information
Released: January 8, 2026
Developer(s): XD
Publisher(s): XD
Number of Players: Single‑player
Steam Deck Compatibility: Unknown
PC Release Date: January 8, 2026
Platform(s): PC, Android, iOS
Genre(s): Life Simulation, Casual, City Builder, Immersive Sim
0
Comments
Want to join the conversation?
Loading comments...