Stardew Valley has enjoyed massive success since its release in February. The indie farm sim has consistently remained among the top Best Sellers on Steam, while major releases like The Division have come and gone. Recently Stardew Valley surpassed one million copies sold, a huge feat for any indie game. With no marketing it has relied on positive reviews and word of mouth. It had reached the half million milestone after only two weeks of release.
“It’s actually at 1,007,000,” publisher Chucklefish told Polygon. “It’s been really exciting for us to help bring this game to people’s attention.” Chucklefish is an independent publisher that specializes in small indie titles with pixel art. Their in-house developed game, Starbound, is currently in Steam Early Access and set to be released later this year.
Stardew Valley’s take on farming and town life has resonated with a lot of people who grew up with Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. It features numerous mini-games, questing, socializing, economics, and dungeon-crawling. You can read Pixelkin’s review here.
Unlike most PC indie games, Stardew Valley skipped crowdfunding and early access. It reached Steam through Greenlight back in 2012. Sole developer Eric Barone spent years working on programming, art, writing, and music. The developer has been busy updating and patching the game since its release. He’s also been incredibly active on forums, Twitter, and Reddit, answering questions and concerns while fixing bugs.
The future is looking bright for Stardew Valley, as well. Cooperative multiplayer is a planned feature, and the game may come to consoles.
