Stardew Valley’s massive 1.6 update has been out on PC for less than 24 hours, and it’s already taken the game’s popularity to staggering new heights. The cozy farming simulator hit 146,159 concurrent players on Steam according to SteamDB data, smashing the game’s previous record as players flock to enjoy new content — including a new farm, festivals, and pets.
Stardew Valley’s previous peak of 94,875 concurrent Steam players was achieved back in January 2021, shortly after the 1.5 update was released. By contrast, its new record is higher than any of the concurrent player stats reported for Palworld this week — which is pretty impressive for a near-decade-old indie RPG. Developer Eric “Concerned Ape” Barone had teased some of the new 1.6 update content on X in the run-up to the patch being released yesterday, which likely helped to entice new and existing fans back to the game.
Stardew Valley’s popularity has slowly increased since it was released in 2016.
Image: SteamDB
You can read the full Stardew Valley 1.6 update patch notes here. Some highlights include a massive new “Meadowlands” farm optimized for animal rearing, being able to move the farmhouse to a new location, new pets (including turtles and new cat/dog breeds) and support for multiple pets, and a whole bunch of new NPC dialogue. You can also now drink mayonnaise.
Some things haven’t been included in the patch notes, so there are a few surprises that will only be discovered by playing the game.
The Stardew Valley 1.6 update is currently available on Steam and GOG. A 1.6.1 patch to fix a few bugs has also already been released. Barone hasn’t announced when the update will be ready for console and mobile devices, but says the Gamepass update is “incoming soon.” Stardew Valley is discounted to just $11.99 right now on Steam for anyone not already swept in by the hype.
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