Stardew Valley continues to rewrite the rules of indie game success, recently achieving its most prestigious milestone yet by becoming the highest-rated indie game of all time on Steam. With a near-perfect positive rating from over 891,000 reviews, Stardew Valley‘s decade of consistent excellence culminates in this historic, yet unsurprising, recognition, further solidifying its legacy as one of gaming’s most enduring success stories.
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Stardew Valley is in Good Company Among Steam’s Best Games of All Time
With Stardew Valley reaching a major milestone, it has positioned itself among the ranks of true gaming giants that share similar accolades.
Stardew Valley’s Achievement is the Latest in a Long Line
The Historic Steam Achievement
According to data compiled by SteamDB, Stardew Valley now holds the distinction of being Steam’s highest-rated indie game across all platforms and genres. This 97.66% positive rating places it above other critically acclaimed indie titles, including Vampire Survivors, Hades, Balatro, and even the legendary Terraria. Perhaps even more impressive, when measured against all games on Steam regardless of developer size, Stardew Valley ranks as the second-highest-rated game of all time, trailing only Valve’s Portal 2, which maintains a 97.71% rating.
Unlike smaller indie games that might achieve high ratings with limited player bases, Stardew Valley has maintained its significant approval rating across nearly a million individual reviews. The consistency of this positive reception across such a massive sample size demonstrates the game’s broad appeal and enduring quality.
A Pattern of Record-Breaking Success
The Steam rating milestone represents just one entry in an extensive catalog of achievements that have defined Stardew Valley‘s trajectory since its 2016 launch. The game’s commercial success has been equally remarkable, with sales figures that would be impressive for any AAA title, let alone a solo-developed indie project.
Stardew Valley‘s sales progression reads like a fairy tale of indie game success. The game sold 425,000 copies within just 12 days of launch, reaching one million copies within two months. By the end of 2017, it had sold 3.5 million copies, climbing to 10 million by January 2020, 15 million by September 2021, and 20 million by November 2022. As of December 2024, Stardew Valley surpassed an astounding 41 million copies sold, with over 26 million on PC alone and 7.9 million on Nintendo Switch.
These numbers become more extraordinary when considering that Stardew Valley was created entirely by one person, Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, who handled all programming, art, music, and writing himself.
Player Engagement Records
Stardew Valley‘s record-breaking extends beyond sales numbers; it’s consistently shattering glass ceilings in the department of player engagement as well. The game’s 1.6 update, released in March 2024, demonstrated the franchise’s enduring appeal by setting new concurrent player records on Steam. It peaked at 147,612 concurrent players — a mark that more than doubles its 2016 launch numbers, placing Stardew Valley in elite company among the ten most-played games on Steam at the time.
The sustained nature of this engagement sets Stardew Valley apart from typical gaming trends. While most games experience declining player counts over time, Stardew Valley has demonstrated the opposite pattern, with major updates consistently drawing both returning players and newcomers to achieve new peak numbers.
Cultural Impact and Industry Influence
As impressive as they are, numerical milestones are just the tip of the iceberg of Stardew Valley‘s achievements. The franchise has since launched an official cookbook (which became a bestseller), featuring 50 recipes inspired by in-game dishes. An official concert tour has also brought the game’s beloved soundtrack to live audiences worldwide, while limited-edition merchandise lines allow fans to express their appreciation in the physical world.
Perhaps most remarkably, Stardew Valley has fostered a community culture centered around achievement and shared accomplishment. The game features an extensive achievement system with 49 total achievements across platforms, including the notorious “Perfection” achievement that requires 100% completion of all game systems.
The “Perfection” achievement is so challenging that only 0.8% of Steam players have unlocked it, with individual completion attempts taking over 300 hours of dedicated play.
The community celebrates these achievements collectively, sharing strategies, celebrating milestones, and offering support through the game’s most challenging content, and the collaborative approach to individual achievement reflects Stardew Valley‘s broader themes of community building and mutual support. From humble beginnings as a Harvest Moon-inspired project to becoming Steam’s highest-rated indie game, Stardew Valley‘s journey represents the very best of what independent game development can achieve, with this latest milestone being a testament to the enduring power of games created with genuine love and respect for their communities.
Stardew Valley
- Released
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February 26, 2016
- ESRB
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E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
- Developer(s)
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ConcernedApe
- Publisher(s)
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ConcernedApe
- Engine
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Proprietary