Stardew Valley: revision #4

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**Stardew Valley** is an open-ended country-life role-playing game created by Eric Barone, who works under the name **ConcernedApe** and solo-developed the game over four years — teaching himself its art, music, programming and design.[^2] It was first released for Windows on 26 February 2016[^1][^2] and has since become one of the defining [[cozy-game|cozy games]]: by its ten-year anniversary in February 2026, Barone reported it had sold 50 million copies.[^4]

## Gameplay

The player inherits their grandfather's old farm plot in Stardew Valley and starts a new life with a few hand-me-down tools and coins.[^1] From there the game is deliberately open-ended: growing crops, raising animals, fishing, mining, crafting, and building relationships with the residents of the nearby town. It can be played solo or cooperatively, with online, LAN and split-screen co-op supported on PC.[^1]

## Development and release

Barone remains the game's sole developer and self-publishes it.[^1][^2] Technically, Stardew Valley began life on Microsoft's XNA framework; with update 1.5.5 in November 2021 it migrated to MonoGame, which Barone described as futureproofing the game and expanding what mods can do.[^3]

After the Windows launch, the game reached macOS and Linux within months, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in December 2016, Nintendo Switch in late 2017, iOS in October 2018, and Android in March 2019.[^2] Barone has kept updating the game for free: the major 1.6 update arrived on PC on 19 March 2024 and reached consoles and mobile on 4 November 2024.[^4]

## Reception

As of December 2024 the game had sold more than 41 million copies across all platforms — over 26 million on PC and 7.9 million on Nintendo Switch — making it one of the most successful games ever built by a single person.[^2] In a February 2026 anniversary post, Barone put the total at 50 million, "with no sign of slowing down."[^4] Its influence is visible across the farming-sim wave that followed, from [[Fields of Mistria]] to [[Dinkum]].

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.stardewvalley.net/)
- [Steam page](https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/)

[^1]: Valve. ["Stardew Valley"](https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/) — Steam store data. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
[^2]: ConcernedApe. ["Press"](https://www.stardewvalley.net/press/) — stardewvalley.net. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
[^3]: ConcernedApe. ["Stardew Valley 1.5.5 released on PC"](https://www.stardewvalley.net/stardew-valley-1-5-5-released-on-pc/) — stardewvalley.net, 30 November 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
[^4]: ConcernedApe. ["Blog (1.6 release and 10-year anniversary posts)"](https://www.stardewvalley.net/blog/) — stardewvalley.net. Retrieved 9 July 2026.