Stardew Valley becomes Steam’s highest-rated indie game

Nearly a decade after debuting, Stardew Valley has achieved another exceptional milestone, now the highest-ranked indie game on Steam. The beloved simulation is now a record-setting indie game.

Launching in 2016, Stardew Valley made its name as a cozy life-simulation game, allowing you to grow crops, make friends, explore caves, and live a life in a small town in the countryside.

Entirely developed by solo creator Eric Barone (a.k.a. ConcernedApe), the game still has staying power nearly nine years after launch.

According to SteamDB, Stardew Valley currently has a sweltering 97.66% positive rating, making it the highest-rated indie title in Steam history.

On its official Steam page, 761,600 users have reviewed it, with 98% of them positive. Stardew Valley is also ahead of Gungeon, Hades, Terraria, Balatro, and Vampire Survivors, which were more popular indie games.

The game's success boiled over again with the release of Update 1.6 in 2024, which brought additional content and engaged both new and older players. Consequently, Stardew Valley hit peak player counts and gained notoriety again.

While Portal 2 still holds the top spot across all games on Steam, Stardew Valley now ranks as the second highest-rated game of all time, beating many big-budget titles.