Dinkum is a survival life-simulation game set on an island inspired by the rugged Australian outback, made by solo Australian developer James Bendon.12 Players farm, hunt, mine, fish and forage to gather resources and gradually expand a town, alone or in online co-op.1 It entered Steam early access on 14 July 2022.3

Gameplay

Dinkum blends survival mechanics with the town-building rhythm of classic life sims: gathering resources across the island, attracting new residents, and steadily growing a frontier settlement.1 A Creative Mode added at 1.0 enables building without resource limits.3

Development and release

In February 2025, KRAFTON announced a global publishing deal for Dinkum, expanding its language support to 14 languages while Bendon continued to develop the core game; KRAFTON is now listed as the game's publisher on Steam.41 Dinkum left early access with its 1.0 launch on 23 April 2025 (Steam's own listing shows 22 April, likely a time-zone artifact).31 A Nintendo Switch version followed on 6 November 2025.2

Reception

By its full launch, Dinkum had surpassed one million units sold;3 as of September 2025 it had sold over 1.4 million copies worldwide and held a "Very Positive" 92% rating on Steam.2 Its outback spin on the Stardew Valley formula earned it a distinct place in the cozy farming-sim wave.

References

  1. Valve. "Dinkum" — Steam store data. Retrieved 9 July 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. COGconnected. "Dinkum Is Arriving on Nintendo Switch This November" — COGconnected, 12 September 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Gaming Amigos. "Dinkum Leaves Early Access with Full Launch on Steam" — Gaming Amigos, 23 April 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. KRAFTON, Inc. "KRAFTON signs global publishing deal for PC survival life sim Dinkum" — KRAFTON press release, February 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2026. ↩