The release of Stardew Valley came as a shock to many when it debuted. Few gamers had heard of it, and many of those who did initially dismissed it as being a Harvest Moon knock off. Little did they know that it would become one of the greatest success stories of 2016.
Stardew Valley soon found itself in the library of tens of thousands of Steam users. As it sold more copies in the days following release, word of mouth became its greatest asset; a majority portion of those who played it were hooked as indicated by its 'Overwhelmingly Positive' rating. This was no ordinary indie title, it was one equipped with the charm and play value that many gamers were itching for in the release-light month of February 2016.
Unlike most games in the industry, Stardew Valley was released at a low price point. At an MSRP of $14.99, it was one of the least expensive games released in 2016. Although such a price point is commonly associated with short-lived indie experiences, Stardew Valley would accumulate dozens of hours of entertainment from the average player.
Stardew Valley was soon thrust into the spotlight, hitting the number one spot on Steam's Top Seller list, accelerating sales into the hundreds of thousands within the first two weeks. It was no longer a game simply looking to fill a void left by Harvest Moon, it was one on the verge of becoming a phenomenon.
Nearly a year later Stardew Valley would release on console, a place ripe with opportunity. Debuting during December to virtually no competition, it easily found its way onto the Xbox Store and PlayStation Store best-seller lists. And, once again, it was met with glowing reviews.
By the end of 2016 it was estimated that Stardew Valley was owned by more than two million Steam users. This statistic puts the title's estimated revenue at over $25 million on PC alone. Given its performance on Xbox One and PS4, it is very likely that it's now sitting on a growing pile of $35 million.
Related: GameRevolution Interview with Stardew Valley's Creator, Eric Barone
This figure would be considered a success for the typical development studio that spends an average of $20 to $25 million to create a game. But this wasn't made by a development studio. Instead, it was made by a single person.
That single developer's name is Eric Barone, and we had a chance to speak with him shortly after he launched Stardew Valley. As he would reveal, the game was made by him in its entirety over more than four years, with very little outside input. Originally birthed by the decline of the Harvest Moon franchise, Stardew Valley would become a development obsession as Barone continued to find areas that the game could improve, eventually growing to something that resembled a mid-sized production rather than its single-developer origins.
Making Stardew Valley alone might have been a serious undertaking, but it came with a benefit; Barone now gets to enjoy almost all the money that the title made, only having to cut a small portion for Steam hosting the title and its publishing by Chucklefish Games. Barone has noted that Chucklefish Games was extremely supportive during development, even when the game might not have appeared to have a reasonable shot at success, so he probably doesn't mind sharing the spoils.
It's quite a story when you consider that Barone was unable to find programming work in 2011 after graduating from college. In-fact, Stardew Valley's production began at a time when he was working as an usher at a theater, contemplating his entry into game development.
It's a classic example of following your passion no matter the obstacles. Stardew Valley is a charismatic game that you can sense was made by someone who enjoyed what they were doing, rather than focusing entirely on using it as a platform to make money. Barone has even continued supporting the game with free updates, a couple of which have introduced notable new features. As a result of Stardew Valley's consumer-friendly pricing and support it's not only one of the most successful games of this generation, but one with a large player base of adoring fans. What more could you want?
20 Tips and Tricks for Stardew Valley
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Prioritize the Community Center
Prioritize the Community Center. Several major developments are locked behind full completion of one of the Community Center's six sections. For example, the Boiler Room has arguably the easiest bundles to collect and will unlock the ability to instantly move between three spots on the map. Bridge repair and bus repair are two other incredibly useful features that you will want to complete with haste. -
Don\'t forget to equip your boots and rings
Simply having these items in your inventory won't do you any good. You need to drag one to the appropriate equipment slot in the main menu in order to benefit from them. -
Invest in high return on investment crops
The most valuable crops to invest in are Cauliflower, Kale, Blueberry, Melon, Cranberry, Eggplant, and Pumpkin. You can read more about the most profitable crops for each season here. -
Donate every artifact to the Museum
There are a variety of rare items in the game that you can either sell or donate to the Museum. Although it may be tempting to sell these items, there are some useful rewards (one in particular that is a necessity) that you are going to want to get, and there's no other way to obtain some of these items than to donate dozens of coveted items to the museum. -
Repair the Beach bridge ASAP
For only 300 wood the second half of the beach will allow you to collect a variety of sea-oriented items every day including mussels and sea urchins. These items hold some monetary value and are great gifts for most of the villagers. -
Upgrade your axe and pickaxe when you can
For a few thousand gold and just a few smelted bars, you can significantly increase the potential of your tools. The three tools in particular that you want to upgrade are the axe, pickaxe, and watering can. While upgrading the watering can will save you time, upgrading the axe and pickaxe will allow you to gather new resources (tree stumps, big rocks, etc) which is essential to success. They also make it easier to gather large volume of a resource since you have to take fewer hits with each upgrade. -
Where to find every villager NPC
Every villager has a pre-determined path for each day of the week. It can be difficult finding and meeting all 28 individuals, so we have put together a guide of where you can find every villager which you can read here. -
Rainy days are best for Mines progression
Clearing floors of the Mines requires a lot of time, which may not be feasible for you on any ordinary day where hours and lots of energy are spent watering crops. So, you may just want to save progression for rainy days when you can skip the responsibilities of crop growth. -
You can collect hidden items from worms
You might notice in the soil of some locations around the map there are worms moving around. If you hit these spots with your Hoe, you'll receive a random item. Some of the items are junk, but there are artifacts and useful resources to be found, too. -
You can break up stacks of items
Simply press the shift button and right click when selecting an item with two or more volume in a stack to begin separating it into smaller chunks. This is particularly useful when you want to sell all but one of something. -
How to make money fast
Making money is one of the primary objectives of Stardew Valley. In most cases it comes down to understanding what has the highest return on investment, and investing as much of your capital and time as possible into these options. Some crops are better investments than others, and fishing as well as the Mines can be a great means of supplemental income. You can read more about how to make money quickly here. -
Check Pierre\'s General Store board every day
New quests will be presented on the board every week or so. In addition, you'll be able to see when festivals are coming up and whose birthday it is. You definitely don't want to miss giving a gift to someone on their birthday, that's for certain. -
Use the pickaxe to clear tilled soil and crafted items
If you're bothered by misplaced soil, simply hit it with your pickaxe to return it to normal ground. The pickaxe can also be used to clear other things, such as crafted items and crops that you want to kill. -
Get sprinklers and fertilizer
Placing Quality Sprinklers will save you time each day, time that you can use to fish or perform other useful tasks. Fertilizer grants a higher chance of obtaining high quality crops when harvesting. Using both of these items liberally on your farm will net you the best results. -
Start gifting early
Having a positive relationship with the Villagers of Stardew Valley is important to being able to complete some quests and getting the most out of holiday festivals. Also, marriage is a neat objective that you will likely want to use at some point, even if only to have a kid. Since you can only gift a villager two gifts per week, you'll want to start gifting early, and pay attention to what people like and dislike. You can find out what items every villager loves and hates in our guide here. -
Invest heavily in crops at the beginning of each month
Most crops grow past their initial harvest, but wither at the end of the month. To get the highest return on investment possible, initiate growth of as many crops as possible on the first day of the month, and don't forget to use fertilizer for maximum gains. -
Where to find the major quest items
Robin's Lost Axe is near Marnie's Ranch. Mayor's Shorts are in Marnie's bedroom, and require at least two friendship stars with her to access. The Skull Key is used in the Desert, which requires completion of a Community Center bundle to access. A Pale Ale requires both a Keg and Hops to craft. There are other quest items, but these are the ones that most often stump players. -
How to get to the next level of the Mines
Each floor of the Mines requires you to defeat enemies and mine rocks until a ladder is randomly revealed. There are also certain levels that are overrun with enemies that require you to defeat every enemy on that level to find the ladder. You can alternatively use a crafted ladder to get to the next level. You can learn more about the Mines and how to complete all of its 120 levels in our guide here. -
You may want to avoid animals
Chickens, cows, ducks, and the other farm animals require one hay per day each in order to survive. In its current state, the game doesn't spawn enough grass to cut in order to make it through the first year of Winter, so you'll end up spending tens of thousands of dollars on hay if you have several animals during the season. Due to this, most members of the community agree that sticking to crops, clearing the Mines, and fishing are more reliable methods of money making. Although, you will need to keep in mind that several of the collections in the Community Center require animal-based items. -
Don\'t forget to craft items
Several of the game's most useful items are crafted. Take for example the keg, tapper, and bee house, three items which allow you to make good supplemental income at low investment, in addition to allowing you to collect several necessary items for the Community Center. -
20 Tips and Tricks For Stardew Valley
