Xbox One

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm.

Role-playing (RPG)SimulatorStrategyAdventureIndie

Time to beat: about 49.3 hours

Overview

Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm. The game is open-ended, with players managing the farm by clearing land, growing seasonal crops, and raising animals. Players can acquire skills in farming, foraging, fishing, mining, and combat. Social features include building relationships with townspeople, with the option to marry and have a child. A later update added multiplayer, allowing online play with others.

Barone created Stardew Valley by himself over five years as an indie developer. He began the project to improve his programming and game design skills. He was heavily inspired by the Harvest Moon series (now named Story of Seasons), with additions to address some of those games' shortcomings. British studio Chucklefish approached Barone halfway through development with an offer to publish the game, allowing him to focus on completing it. It was released for Windows in February 2016 before being ported to several other platforms.

Stardew Valley received generally positive reviews from critics, including Yasuhiro Wada, the creator of Harvest Moon. The game has been cited as one of the best video games ever made and is credited with causing a resurgence in popularity for the farming sim genre. It became one of the best-selling video games, selling 50 million copies by February 2026. The game appeared on several publications' year-end lists and received accolades, including the Breakthrough Award at the Golden Joystick Awards and a nomination for Best Game at the British Academy Games Awards.