Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone has updated Stardew's official site with an interesting new tidbit. "Since release, the game has sold over 15 million copies worldwide." That's 15 million Stardew Valleys on PlayStations, Xboxes, Switches, cell phones, laptops, personal computers, and PlayStation Vitas.
That’s a lot, and it’s especially a lot considering all those sales are mostly going to just one guy at $14.99 each, although, Stardew goes on sale quite often so the actual take-home pay per unit sold is likely considerably less than that. Still, ConcernedApe is probably set for life just based on Stardew sales alone.
But is 15 million a lot compared to all games? Well, not really. According to Wikipedia, it's not even in the top 50, and there are a lot of indie games that have even sold more than Stardew. Minecraft is well over 200 million sales at this point, Among Us has been downloaded over 217 million times as of 2020, and even Terraria has clocked in over 35 million sales earlier this year. That said, Stardew is inching its way up to the big leagues and we’re totally happy for its success.
One of the more interesting signs that Stardew has struck it big is that it recently became an esport. The Stardew Valley Cup just wrapped up last week with a $40,000 prize pool that went to a team of four Stardew content creators. The contest pitted Stardew streamers up against one another to see who could complete as many challenges as they could within an allotted time limit. The competition was fierce, but in the end, Sandies Candies took home the coveted Lawn Flamingo trophy.
At the end of the competition, ConcernedApe revealed in an interview that Stardew's latest update may be its last. “I’m not even saying if there’s going to be another Stardew Valley update, I don’t know at this point," Barone said, noting that he's focusing his efforts on his next game, which will be set in the same universe as Stardew.