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Picture: Steam store page (ConcernedApe)

Stardew Valley

Released 26 February 2016 Developer ConcernedApe

You inherit a rundown farm and spend each in-game day planting crops, raising animals, fishing, mining and getting to know the people of a small town. It is a relaxed, open-ended farming and life simulation, played alone or in online co-op with friends.

Money health FairPay clearly, know the ceiling
Addictive design None0 of 5 — counts the hooks designed in
Average price A$13.78average of 5 store prices
Spending ceiling Has a ceilingEverything costs A$16.99
Australian rating ACBPGMild themes and simulated gambling, online interactivity

How it makes money

Fair: pay clearly, know the ceiling

A one-off purchase: A$16.99 on Steam and the Nintendo eShop, A$19.95 on Xbox One, A$7.99 on the App Store and A$6.99 on Google Play. On the versions we checked (Steam and Nintendo Switch) the only extras are a separate soundtrack and a free Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack; there are no in-game purchases. Online co-op on consoles needs the console's paid online subscription.

How you pay

  • Game library

    'Stardew Valley+' is also available inside Apple Arcade for subscribers, alongside the paid App Store version (A$7.99).

    minor part of the game
  • Online sub

    Online co-op on Switch needs a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership (other consoles have their own online subscriptions); PC co-op needs none.

    minor part of the game
  • Pay once

    A$16.99 on Steam and the Nintendo eShop buys the whole game; Steam lists only a separate soundtrack as an extra.

What it costs

Price: A$13.78 · everything A$16.99

WhatWherePriceChecked
Standard Steam (AU) · PC A$16.99 Oct 2026
Standard Nintendo eShop (AU) · Switch A$16.99 Oct 2026
Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack
Free upgrade for Switch owners.		 Nintendo eShop (AU) · Switch 2 Free Oct 2026
Standard Xbox Store (AU) · Xbox One A$19.95 Oct 2026
Standard Apple App Store (AU) · iOS A$7.99 Oct 2026
Standard Google Play (AU) · Android A$6.99 Oct 2026

Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.

Reviews from across the web

What the critics said

90OpenCritic
Mighty 89Metacritic
Metascore
Overwhelmingly PositiveSteam
player reviews
  • 10/ 10

    IGN

    Shailyn Cotten · 7 May 2024 · PC

    Argues that eight years of updates have made it a modern classic with plenty to do and a satisfying time-management challenge.

  • 9/ 10

    GameSpot

    Mary Kish · 6 October 2017 · Switch

    Finds the challenges of mastering the farm and building a relationship rewarding and often surprising.

  • Essential

    Eurogamer

    Simon Parkin · October 2017 · Switch

    Calls it a modern indie classic and thinks the Switch is an ideal place to play it.

  • 9/ 10

    Nintendo Life

    Ryan Craddock · 7 October 2017 · Switch

    Describes a relaxing escape with rewarding long-term growth that fans of Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing should enjoy.

Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.

Age ratings & content

What's in it

Content labels

  • Violencemoderate

    Fighting, weapons, injury and death, from cartoon bonks to realistic killing.

    From ESRB and PEGI descriptors
  • Sim. gamblingmoderate

    Casino games and gambling imagery, played without real money.

    From ACB and ESRB descriptors
  • Blood & goremild

    Blood, injuries and body damage on screen.

    From ESRB descriptors
  • Drugs & alcoholmild

    References to, or use of, illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

    From ESRB descriptors
  • Languagemild

    Swearing and crude language, from the odd 'damn' to frequent strong profanity.

    From ESRB descriptors
  • Mature themesmild

    Crime, cruelty, death, suicide and self-harm, discrimination, and crude humour.

    From ACB descriptors

Classification

ACBPG

Australian Classification · record

Mild themes and simulated gambling, online interactivity

ESRBE10+

ESRB (North America) · record

Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Simulated Gambling

Interactive elements: Online interactions not rated by the ESRB

PEGI12

PEGI (Europe) · record

Violence

Age ratings judge content (violence, language, gambling themes), summed up in the content labels above. They say little about how hard a game pushes spending — that's what the money badges are for. About rating boards

Safety & parental controls

Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?

  • Text chat
  • No contact with strangers
  • No user-made content
  • No account needed

Single-player needs no account. Online co-op (up to four players on Switch) is by invitation only, through friends or an invite code; there are no public lobbies, and players use text chat inside the session. The Australian classification (PG) lists mild themes and simulated gambling: there is an in-game casino that uses in-game coins, and the ESRB also notes use of alcohol and tobacco. There is no real-money gambling. Mods exist on PC but are third-party and not part of the game.

Who makes it

The company behind it, and its track record

ConcernedApe

Developer and publisher · United States

  • Pay-once house

    Pay-once house

    Stardew Valley is sold once; its large content updates, including 1.5 in 2020 and 1.6 in 2024, have been free, and Barone pledged in 2024 never to charge for DLC or updates.
  • Independent

    Independent studio

    Eric Barone has self-published Stardew Valley since December 2018 and on all platforms since March 2022, after ending his publishing deal with Chucklefish.

Latest on the record

  1. Good practice

    Pledged never to charge for DLC or updates

    Nintendo Life
  2. Good practice

    Released the 1.6 content update for Stardew Valley at no extra charge

    IGN
  3. Other

    Became Stardew Valley's publisher on all platforms

    Chucklefish

ConcernedApe: full profile and track record →

A company's history doesn't change this game's money verdict, which rates only how the game itself makes money. About company track records

Platforms & release

Where you can play it

PlatformReleasedStore
Nintendo Switch 2
Free Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack for Switch owners.		 — Store page
Nintendo Switch 5 October 2017 Store page
PlayStation 5
Runs the PS4 version.		 — —
PlayStation 4
Also plays on PS5.		 13 December 2016 —
Xbox Series X|S
Runs the Xbox One version.		 — —
Xbox One
Also plays on Xbox Series X|S.		 14 December 2016 Store page
Windows PC 26 February 2016 Store page
Mac — Store page
Linux / Steam Deck — Store page
iPhone and iPad 24 October 2018 Store page
Android phones and tablets — Store page

Further reading

Facts last checked 22 October 2026. Sources: store.steampowered.com, store.steampowered.com, www.nintendo.com, api.ec.nintendo.com, displaycatalog.mp.microsoft.com, itunes.apple.com, play.google.com, www.classification.gov.au, opencritic.com, en.wikipedia.org. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.