Stardew Valley has sold 30 million copies, and its creator says it's "thriving more than ever"
Feb. 27, 2024Fans can’t get enough of the farming sim
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Stardew Valleycreator reveals the farming sim is “thriving more than ever” and has sold 30 million copies.
On February 26, Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone finally revealed what fans have been waiting for - the release date for theStardew Valley 1.6 update. In a series of tweets, the developer not only shared the update’s March release date but also took the opportunity to celebrate Stardew Valley’s 8th anniversary.
It’s no secret that Stardew Valley has really taken off recently. Every day we’re finding new games that have been compared to ConcernedApe’s sim, includingDreaming Isles,Southfield,Rusty’s Retirement, and several more. Even unofficial mods for Stardew Valley have seen massive amounts of success, like ‘Stardew Valley Expanded’ which recentlycelebrated two million downloadson PC alone.
Part of Stardew Valley’s success could be down to the amount of content fans have got, and are still getting, for it. Late last year, Barone revealed that the reason why he keeps working on his farming sim is becauseit’s his “life’s work"and he “cares a lot” about it. The developer cares so much in fact, he’s previously saidthe only way he’d allow a Stardew Valley movie to be madeis if animation studio Studio Ghibli or director David Lynch were attached to it.
The good news is that Stardew Valley isn’t the only game ConcernedApe is working on. Alongside the huge 1.6 update, the developer is also working on a new game calledHaunted Chocolatieras well asanother “new project"that’s yet to be announced.
You can find even more to play with ourgames like Stardew Valleylist.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I’m also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.
Stardew Valley creator says he had his reasons to announce Haunted Chocolatier so early, and “if I don’t post for a while, it doesn’t mean I have abandoned the game”
Eric Barone says he just can’t “let go” of Stardew Valley “to work on something that isn’t already established and meaningful to people”
The next Evil Dead movie has an official title, and it sounds like it could be even more terrifying and intense than Evil Dead Rise
