Stardew Valley has sold 30 million copies, and its creator says it's "thriving more than ever"

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Fans can't get enough of the farming sim

Stardew Valley
(Image credit: ConcernedApe)

Stardew Valley creator 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 the Stardew 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. 

Reflecting on the game's trajectory since its launch in 2016, Barone writes: "With a new update on the horizon, a worldwide concert tour underway, an official cookbook coming soon, and now over 30 million copies sold, Stardew Valley is thriving more than ever. As always, I'm eternally grateful to the players (you!) for making all of this possible."

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, including Dreaming 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 recently celebrated two million downloads on 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 because it's his "life's work" and he "cares a lot" about it. The developer cares so much in fact, he's previously said the only way he'd allow a Stardew Valley movie to be made is 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 called Haunted Chocolatier as well as another "new project" that's yet to be announced. 

You can find even more to play with our games like Stardew Valley list. 

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

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.