Ten years ago today, one of the most successful indie games of all time – Stardew Valley – was launched. Here’s how that unexpected hit came about.
What is the most successful game by a solo developer? You might think of Minecraft or Terraria, but these games were developed by entire teams after launch. The only title that is sold close to 50 million copies and on which only one developer is still working is a simulation of (farming) life Stardew Valley.
Stardew Valley was launched on this day in 2016 as by Eric Baroneknown by the nickname ConcernedApe. Barone grew up with the farming series of Harvest Moon games, but with time lost hope in it and wanted to make a more modern version of those games. At first, the game was called Sprout Valley and was announced at the end of 2012 as part of the then Steam Greenlight. Even then, the game attracted a lot of attention, and Barone found a publisher without any problems.
Stardew Valley, as Barone’s first game, had a fairly simple look and feel 2D pixel-art stil in order to evoke nature and his characters. However, the gameplay mechanics were deep and detailed. The game begins with the player moving to the estate he inherited from his late grandfather, where he meets the friendly locals and embraces the simple life of a farmer. Ultimately, the player can develop his farm and marry some of the characters.
The game begins with the player moving to the estate he inherited from his late grandfather, where he meets the friendly locals and embraces the simple life of a farmer.
Stardew Valley is played seasonally, where the seasons change every 28 days ingame days. In addition to classic farming jobs, the player can participate in different events and mine in caves. At first, Stardew Valley was played exclusively as a single-player title, but later it was added multiplayer.
Stardew Valley has stood out as a global hit during its ten years of existence. It spread from PC to consoles in the same year, and even ended up on PlayStation Vita in 2018, you wouldn’t believe it. Although it attracted a lot of audience on mobile platforms, most players still played the PC version, which is reputed to be the best due to the possibility of modifying the gameplay.
Although Eric Barone has long since announced his next game, he still periodically develops new features and capabilities for Stardew Valley. Although the publisher Chucklefish helps him with the logistical part, all content within Stardew is still the sole responsibility of Barone.
Although Eric Barone has long since announced his next game, he still periodically develops new features and capabilities for Stardew Valley.
The story of Stardew Valley is one of the inspiring stories of indie production. Not only has nearly 50 million people bought that game, but it’s a decade after its release among the highest rated games in Steam history. Before it is only Portal 2, but maybe that will change in the future. Because even after a decade of existence, Stardew Valley will continue to get new little things that make fans adore it.