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Official Stardew Valley artwork of the farm and town

Home Ground

Stardew Valley

A farm, a town, a calendar, and a price that has stayed small for a decade.

The best value on the chart and the easiest recommendation. Buy it once, play it for years, give it to someone you like.

Pay once, nothing else everFarming and lifeCo-op up to eightEvery platformNo account needed

Stardew Valley is a farming and life game made almost entirely by one person, Eric Barone, and updated by him for free ever since. You inherit a run-down farm, plant crops, meet the town, and let the seasons shape your days. It costs less than a takeaway, sells nothing inside, plays on every device you own and supports quiet co-op for up to eight. It is the game people recommend when someone asks for something calm.

The four bearings

  • N
    Newcomer · 20%
    9

    A tiny download, a two-minute setup and a first day that explains itself. The only thing it hides is how much there is.

  • E
    Every session · 35%
    8.5

    Every in-game day is a small, complete plan: water, fish, talk, sleep. A half hour is always enough and never feels wasted. Combat in the mines is the weakest part.

  • S
    Staying power · 25%
    8.5

    Most players take a hundred hours to see a farm through, then start another. The free 1.6 update added enough for a whole new run. Mods on PC extend it indefinitely.

  • W
    Wallet · 20%
    10

    One small price, no shop, no pass, and every major update in ten years has been free. Nothing on the chart treats your wallet better.

Weighted 20 / 35 / 25 / 20 into an Atlas score of 8.9. How the bearings work.

What you are actually doing

You leave a desk job for your grandfather's farm in Pelican Town. Each day has energy and daylight to spend: clear the land, plant and water crops, fish, mine, forage, and get to know the townspeople, who have schedules, birthdays, secrets and, eventually, a place in your life if you want them there. Seasons change what grows and what happens in town, and the year turns over into another. There is a loose goal, a ruined community centre to restore, and no pressure to reach it.

The town is the heart. Thirty-odd characters with stories that unfold over years of play give the game a quiet warmth that the farming loop alone would not have.

The first evening, honestly

Stardew is as easy to start as anything on the chart. Pick a farm layout, name a cat, and the first spring day walks you through the essentials with a handful of seeds and a letter from the mayor. The game runs on a phone, a Switch, a laptop from a decade ago. The only advice new players need is to plant more parsnips than feels sensible and to go to bed before two in the morning, in the game and probably out of it.

Why it stays

Depth arrives slowly. Animals, artisan goods, the mines, the desert, the island added in a later update, marriage and children, the community centre's full restoration and a second, harder goal beyond it. The 1.6 update in 2024 added a new farm type, new festivals and a new endgame for free, and a 1.7 update was announced at the game's tenth anniversary in February 2026 with two new marriage candidates and no date. On PC a large modding scene has built entire expansions. And it is the ideal co-op game for people who do not want to shout: up to eight players on one farm on PC and Switch 2, four on other consoles, each with their own cabin. Fifty million copies sold say most of this for us.

Stardew Valley screenshot of a spring farm
A spring farm with a blossoming tree
Stardew Valley screenshot of the Luau festival
The Luau festival with the whole town
Stardew Valley screenshot of the mine
The mine, with its slimes and minecart tracks

Where it shines, where it drags

  • Calm, complete half-hour sessions
  • A town full of characters worth knowing
  • One small price and a decade of free updates
  • Runs on anything, with quiet co-op for up to eight
  • Combat in the mines is thin
  • No cross-play between platforms
  • The calendar can turn into a to-do list if you let it
  • Easy to lose track of time

The toll: what it costs in the UK

Stardew Valley is a single purchase and sells nothing else; the developer has publicly ruled out microtransactions. Every content update in its history has been free. The mobile version is a separate purchase at a lower price, and a soundtrack is sold separately for people who want it. Prices are the UK stores on 24 September 2026.

  • PC, Mac and Linux (Steam, GOG)£10.99
  • PlayStation£11.49
  • Xbox£11.99
  • Nintendo Switch (Switch 2 edition is a free upgrade)£10.99
  • iOS and Android£4.99, no in-app purchases
  • Soundtrack (optional)£3.99

Randomised items: No. There is nothing to buy inside the game at all.

Subscriptions and online play: Solo play needs nothing. Online co-op on PlayStation, Xbox and Switch needs the platform's paid online service; on PC it is free. Up to eight players share a farm on PC and Switch 2, four on other consoles.

Prices checked 24 September 2026 on the UK stores named above. See Paying for games in the UK for the rights that apply to each payment route.

Who it suits

Anyone who wants a game that gives the day a gentle shape, players sharing a farm with a partner or friends, and younger players. If you want the same calm with no structure at all, Minecraft is the other Home Ground game.

Where to go next

Start with the Stardew Valley waypoint for a first evening that goes well. Or compare it directly: Stardew Valley or Minecraft.