PC hit Stardew Valley tops 1 million downloads in less than two months

Publisher Chucklefish Games has confirmed that PC farming sim Stardew Valley has sold more than 1 million copies, confirming its status as one of the surprise smash hits of 2016 so far. The game, developed by ConcernedApe, hit the milestone less than two months after its February launch.

Stardew Valley appeared to be nearing the total according to third party Steam sales tracking site Steam Spy, so Polygon requested clarification of the third-party site's approximate figure from Chucklefish Games, which responded with a more exact number.

"It's actually at 1,007,000 [copies sold] as of now," said a company spokesperson. Stardew Valley hit nearly half a million sales just two weeks after going on sale on 26 February. The figure is impressive for most indie games, but especially for ones with as quaint a charm as Stardew Valley.

At the tail end of 2015, Steam Spy published a report rounding up its estimated, unofficial sales and revenue data for Steam games last year. Compare the Stardew Valley sales figure to the data for 2015, and it has already outsold all but nine PC titles.

The game casts players as someone escaping the city life to take over and run his grandfather's run-down farm. It's primarily a farming sim, but becomes much more as the player builds relationships with the local populace and discovers the world's secrets. It's nature has curated a dedicated fan base eager to share tips, tricks and stories – such as how blueberries saved one player's marriage.

The growing success of the game makes future releases on console and mobile all the likelier, and in the case of the former that seems likely to happen, with the developers admitting that talks have taken place. No specific platforms were named.

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