The closest games like Stardew Valley are Fields of Mistria, Coral Island and Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, which all hand you a neglected farm next to a town full of people to befriend and marry. Rune Factory 4 Special and Sun Haven are farming games like Stardew Valley with more combat, while My Time at Sandrock and Core Keeper put building and crafting first. Haunted Chocolatier, the next game from Stardew creator ConcernedApe, is still in development with no release date as of October 2026.
Platforms, release dates and multiplayer modes checked as of October 2026.
What makes Stardew Valley special
Stardew Valley was created by Eric Barone, known as ConcernedApe, who built version 1.0 alone over about four and a half years before its release on February 26, 2016. You inherit your late grandfather’s overgrown farm plot, get to know the more than 30 residents of Pelican Town, and split your days between crops, animals, fishing, foraging and monster-filled mines. Barone drew heavily on the Harvest Moon series, now called Story of Seasons, and by February 2026 the game had sold more than 50 million copies.
Co-op arrived with the 1.3 update, which launched on PC in August 2018. The 1.6 update reached PC on March 19, 2024, and PlayStation, Xbox and Switch in November 2024, adding the Meadowlands Farm, a new major festival, multiple pets and an end-game skill system, and raising the PC co-op limit to eight players. The Switch 2 Edition, a free upgrade for Switch owners, launched in North America on December 25, 2025, with online play for up to eight and split-screen for up to four. A 1.7 update is in development, with no release date as of October 2026.
How to choose a Stardew Valley alternative
- Solo or co-op. Coral Island, Roots of Pacha, Dinkum, Core Keeper and Palia support online play, and Fae Farm has online co-op on Switch and Xbox. Sun Haven offers co-op on PC only, My Time at Sandrock has a separate co-op mode, and Spiritfarer has two-player local co-op. The rest are single-player.
- How much combat. Stardew keeps its fighting mostly underground. Rune Factory 4 Special, Sun Haven, Fae Farm and Core Keeper give combat a much bigger role.
- Platform and price. Most picks run on PC and Switch, but Fields of Mistria is PC only and Coral Island is skipping the original Switch. On PC and consoles, all are one-time purchases except Palia, which is free-to-play with in-game purchases, and several sell paid expansions.
- Farm or neighbors. If decorating and island life matter more than crops, these games like Animal Crossing are a better fit.
Farming and town life
1. Fields of Mistria
NPC Studio’s debut is the closest match to Stardew’s structure. You accept an overgrown homestead in a village recovering from an earthquake, then farm, fish, dig for ore and craft to repair its buildings and raise the town’s rank, with more than 30 villagers and 12 marriage candidates. The twist is magic: a dragon reached through a shrine on your farm grants spells, including one that brings rain, and a slower clock option eases the daily rush. It left early access on Steam on August 5, 2026.
Developer: NPC Studio. Released: 2026 (early access from 2024). Platforms: PC (Windows and Linux). Multiplayer: None.
2. Coral Island
Coral Island moves the formula to a tropical island and adds the sea to your chores. Alongside crops and animals, you help restore the coral reefs around town, visit an undersea merfolk kingdom and get to know more than 70 islanders, 25 of them dateable. Co-op arrived in the 1.2 update of August 2025, and as of October 2026 a Switch 2 version is announced for this winter, though not one for the original Switch.
Developer: Stairway Games. Released: 2023 (early access from 2022). Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S. Multiplayer: Online co-op for up to four, with full cross-play across Steam, Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S since September 2025; no local co-op.
3. Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
Stardew grew out of Harvest Moon, and this remake of a 2003 Game Boy Advance Harvest Moon game shows where many of its ideas came from. The setup will feel familiar: the run-down farm you take over belonged to your grandfather, and your days go to crops, livestock and the people of Mineral Town, who warm to you through gifts and conversation until marriage becomes an option. Expect a more traditional game, with no co-op.
Developer: Marvelous. Released: 2019 in Japan, 2020 in North America. Platforms: Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One. Multiplayer: None.
4. Palia
Palia fills the village with other players. Its skills include gardening, ranching, fishing, foraging, mining and cooking, and you build a home from Building Blocks while befriending the villagers. It is the only free pick here, though it needs an internet connection and is funded by in-game purchases.
Developer: Singularity 6 (owned by Daybreak Game Company since 2024). Released: 2023 (as an open beta on PC). Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S. Multiplayer: Online only, with cross-platform play.
Farming plus combat and dungeons
5. Rune Factory 4 Special
Rune Factory began as a fantasy spin-off of Story of Seasons, and it gives dungeons as much weight as fields. An opening fall from the sky onto a dragon leaves you running the town of Selphia, and your days alternate between crops, tamed monsters and dungeon runs with weapons and spells. Marriage opens a Newlywed Mode with its own story. The newest series entry, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, arrived in 2025.
Developer: Marvelous (the 3DS original was made by Neverland). Released: 2012 on 3DS; this Special edition in 2019 (2020 in North America). Platforms: Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One. Multiplayer: None.
6. Sun Haven
Sun Haven turns the fantasy up: you split time between three farms, spend points in a skill tree and follow a main quest built around spells, monster fights and dragons. Livestock runs from cows and chickens to griffons and phoenixes, and there is no stamina bar to end a day early. Settings let you change day length, switch off damage or remove crop pests.
Developer: Pixel Sprout Studios. Released: 2023 (early access from 2021). Platforms: PC (Windows, Mac), Switch. Multiplayer: Online co-op for up to eight on PC; single-player on Switch.
7. Fae Farm
Fae Farm is built for groups: up to four players can work one homestead on the island of Azoria. Farming, cooking and potion-making share time with spell-assisted exploration and dungeon fights, and decorating your house raises cozy ratings that boost health, energy and mana. After layoffs, Phoenix Labs switched off online co-op on PC on September 10, 2025. Gambit Digital took over publishing days later and said in a September 29, 2025 Steam post that the public servers would remain online, so check the current state of PC online play before buying it for co-op.
Developer: Phoenix Labs. Released: 2023. Platforms: Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S. Multiplayer: Co-op for up to four, online on Switch and Xbox according to their store listings, plus local wireless on Switch; online co-op on PC was switched off in September 2025.
Building and crafting
8. My Time at Sandrock
Sandrock swaps the farmer for a builder. You arrive in a desert town 330 years after a disaster wiped out most modern technology, take over a run-down workshop and turn gathered materials into machines, parts and whole structures to rescue the local economy. Farming, romance and monster fights are here too, but building drives progress, so it suits players who liked Stardew’s community center goals more than its fields.
Developer: Pathea Games. Released: 2023 (early access from 2022). Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S. Multiplayer: A separate online co-op mode for up to four, on PC since 2023, Xbox Series X|S since June 2024 and Switch since December 2024, where My Time at Sandrock Online is a separate download that needs the base game.
9. Dinkum
Dinkum starts you with a sleeping bag beside a campfire on an island modeled on the Australian outback, and you grow that camp into a town. Farming, fishing, bug catching, mining and hunting pay for new buildings, and shops and residents arrive as it grows. The difference from Stardew is danger: some wildlife fights back, so weapons and traps matter.
Developer: James Bendon (published by Krafton). Released: 2025 (early access from 2022). Platforms: PC, Switch, Switch 2. Multiplayer: Online co-op on PC; local wireless or online play for two to four on Switch and Switch 2.
10. Core Keeper
Core Keeper takes Stardew’s mines and makes them the whole game. You wake in a huge underground cavern and dig outward through new biomes, building a base, tending a garden, fishing, raising animals and taking on giant bosses, with automation for the repetitive work. Groups can also host a world on a dedicated server, and it appears among these games like Minecraft too.
Developer: Pugstorm (published by Fireshine Games). Released: 2024 (early access from 2022). Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2. Multiplayer: Online co-op for up to eight on PC and Switch 2; up to four on the original Switch.
Cozy games like Stardew Valley in a different setting
11. Roots of Pacha
Roots of Pacha sets the farming sim in the Stone Age. Your clan settles beside a revered tree, and progress comes from donating fish, crops and ores for contribution points while the clan works out new ideas, from domesticating plants and animals to new tools and buildings. Festivals, friendships and romance fill out the seasons.
Developer: Soda Den. Released: 2023. Platforms: PC (Windows, Mac, Linux), Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S. Multiplayer: Online co-op for up to four; Steam lists cross-platform play.
12. Graveyard Keeper
Graveyard Keeper is the dark comedy on this list, cozy only in its daily routine. Lazy Bear Games drew on Stardew Valley, but your plot is a medieval cemetery: you bury the dead, cut ethical corners for profit, gather and craft, and explore dungeons for alchemy ingredients. A sequel, Graveyard Keeper 2, launched on September 22, 2026.
Developer: Lazy Bear Games (published by tinyBuild). Released: 2018. Platforms: PC (Windows, Mac, Linux), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch, iOS, Android. Multiplayer: None.
13. Spiritfarer
Spiritfarer keeps the chores (farming, mining, fishing, cooking and crafting) but moves them onto a boat that carries spirits to the afterlife. As Stella, you expand the ship and care for each passenger until they are ready to leave, which gives the routine an emotional arc Stardew never attempts. It has an ending and some platforming.
Developer: Thunder Lotus. Released: 2020. Platforms: PC (Windows, Mac, Linux), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, plus a Netflix edition on iOS and Android. Multiplayer: Two-player local co-op, with the second player as Daffodil the cat.
Frequently asked questions
Is Haunted Chocolatier out?
No. As of October 2026, Haunted Chocolatier is still in development with no release date, and ConcernedApe’s latest post on its site, from August 30, 2026, says only that work is progressing. PC is the only confirmed platform, and he has no current plans for multiplayer.
What is the closest game to Stardew Valley?
Fields of Mistria is the closest overall, with a farm to restore, a town to rebuild and 12 marriage candidates, plus magic. For co-op, Coral Island is the nearest match, and Friends of Mineral Town is the closest to the Harvest Moon games that inspired Stardew.
Are there multiplayer games like Stardew Valley?
Yes. Core Keeper supports up to eight players, Coral Island and Roots of Pacha support up to four, and Fae Farm supports four on Switch and Xbox, though its PC online co-op was switched off in September 2025. Dinkum and Palia have online play, Sun Haven offers co-op on PC, and My Time at Sandrock has a separate co-op mode.
Are there free games like Stardew Valley?
Palia is the main free-to-play option, funded by optional in-game purchases. Fae Farm and Dinkum have free demos on Steam, and the mobile edition of Spiritfarer comes with a Netflix subscription.
What are the best games like Stardew Valley on Switch?
On Switch, the strongest picks are Friends of Mineral Town, Rune Factory 4 Special, Fae Farm, Sun Haven, Roots of Pacha, My Time at Sandrock and Spiritfarer. Core Keeper and Dinkum also have Switch 2 editions. Fields of Mistria and Coral Island are not on Switch as of October 2026.
Lead photo: A vegetable garden at Eisenhower National Historic Site in Pennsylvania. Photo: Mary O'Neill, National Park Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
