The absolutely lovely and charming farm sim Stardew Valley has arguably redefined and perfected the genre. Capturing the hearts of many across the world since its original release on PC back in 2016, ConcernedApe has continued to update the game for free ever since, and his love, passion, and dedication for the game has garnered attention and admiration everywhere.
We now know that the game has sold a staggering 20 million copies as of March 2022. Announced via the game's website, 13 million of those have been understandably on PC. Still, given the nature of the game, its relaxing routine-based gameplay, and in-depth but straightforward gameplay, it's the perfect Switch game to sneak in a session or two in the morning before work.
In September, the game hit 15 million in sales, which means it sold five million units in just eight months. And that's years after the game first came out, too.
ConcernedApe probably doesn't need to do anything else with Stardew Valley at this point — the number of free updates and the endless amount of content will keep us going for years. The developer is now working on a brand new game, Haunted Chocolatier, and has suggested that he has "no plans" to update the farming sim anymore.
Are you one of the 20 million Stardew Valley players? Let us know what you think of this milestone in the comments.
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[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 20
Was there something specific that caused the game to suddenly sell 5mil more in 8 months?
I love glitzy graphics and normally never touch a game with retro graphics. I read the reviews and ended up sinking over 100 hours into this game which is a bargain for how much gameplay you get. I still think it looks ugly, really ugly.
No wonder the game hasn't gone on sale in a while.
While I haven't played much of SV yet, having picked up a digital copy on Switch Day 1 I think, its status and reputation was enough to convince me that it warranted a place in my Switch physical collection too, so I can claim a one-millionth of the responsibility for this.
It's cute. I just never got too into it, but congrats to that dude.
I'm so excited for Haunted Chocolatier. After around 90 hours in SV, I think I'm done with it. However, I'm really excited to see what he has in store with his new game and I'm fully ready to put another 90 hours into the next project.
Well earned. Guy seems so passionate about what he does.
So a lot of people decided to "do the dew" it seems. Good for him even if I was bored within an hour both times I tried it. Just so many other games to play that collecting radishes and raising chickens doesn't sound that fun when that's something I could do in real life if I felt so compelled.
is there some inside joke I'm missing when the subtitle calls us apes
@1ofUs I was trying to make a joke using the dev's name! But I think I missed the mark a bit. A little tweak should fix that.
I sunk 95 hours into my first game (on the Vita); it took a little while to get into it, but when I did, I so did 😊 I will get around to trying another landscape style and playing from a different approach. Being able to spend 10 mins or a couple of hours really helps, especially playing on a handheld.
I may even double dip as the Switch version got further updates compared to the Vita
@SteamEngenius is it fun being the latest Nintendolife contrarian? I’ve been here a while and have seen so many come and go.
I just started my third farm, trying to go for 100% complete this time. I think I have about 200 hours played now.
Never had so many cutscenes as now because of the friendship levels and I'm still loving this game so much. Can't wait for his next game, which looks like a quite time consuming game as well.
One of the games that I can truly say that I got my money's worth with this game 👍
Never was able to get into this game.
Good for the developer, though. That's an insane level of success for any dev, let alone an independent one.
I honestly didn't get the hype for SV at first, I felt like I was just wandering aimlessly, but then I came across the mine and things started to click- fast forward to now and I've sunk over 100 hours! I do think the game has a steep learning curve, but once you understand what you're doing, the game offers so many opportunities and so much content to sink your teeth into. 20 mill sales is absolutely deserved.
Every time I see a physical copy, I'm tempted to buy it even though I own the digital copy and already sunk 100+ hours.
@1ofUs ConcernedApe is the new publisher of StarDew Valley. More detailed, it's being self-published by the creator now. This is s recent development.
I thought I was hardcore dropping 200+ hours into Stardew, then I saw my wife's stats and she's sitting around 1.2k.
I need to start that 2nd farm. The first farm was a blast. I just wish there was a toggle/mode for no combat. Combat in this game can turn stressful at times, especially without the correct gear. Still a great game and well deserved. Here's to the next X millions and hope Hades reaches the same heights.
@AlanaHagues, I don't know what the earlier subtitle was, but this one's really nice!
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