Coding Game 'The Farmer Was Replaced' Reaches 400K Sales

A unique indie title blending cozy farming with automation and coding, The Farmer Was Replaced, has become one of 2025's biggest surprise hits on Steam, selling over 400,000 copies. Launched from Early Access on October 10, the game has doubled its widely reported initial milestone of 200,000 units, proving its innovative concept has found a massive audience.

Developed by Timon Herzog and published by Metaroot, the game's success is backed by sustained player engagement. It currently holds an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam, based on nearly 2,210 user reviews. According to reports from CBR and GameDiscoverCo, the initial 200,000 sales spike alone represented a "whopping 39,000% revenue increase" for the developer.

Analytics from SteamDB confirmed the title's strong momentum. The Farmer Was Replaced has reached an all-time peak of 7,436 concurrent players and continues to see healthy daily peaks of over 1,800 players as of late October.

The game's core appeal comes from its unique gameplay loop. Instead of performing tasks by hand, players must automate their farm by programming a drone. This system uses a simplified, Python-like coding language to handle everything from planting seeds to watering crops, effectively turning the traditional farming sim gaming into an engaging logic and optimization puzzle.

Coding Mechanic Drives Sales and Acclaim

While not a purely casual experience, the game's intuitive mechanics have been praised for making the learning process of coding "a lot more fun" and accessible.

This isn't Herzog's first exploration of the genre. His 2020 title, Assembly Planter, also focused on "lazy farmer" mechanics and production optimisation. The Farmer Was Replaced builds on those concepts, demonstrating how indie developers can successfully innovate on established formulas rather than just creating Stardew Valley copycats.

The title's popularity also highlights a broader market shift on Steam toward idle and automated gameplay. Other games in the genre, such as Territory Idle (Mostly Positive) and Leaf Blower Revolution, have also secured dedicated followings, confirming a clear audience for these experiences.

With The Farmer Was Replaced still in its first major release version, its "genius" combination of farming, idle mechanics, and coding has found a vibrant following, and its ongoing success suggests future updates will only draw in a bigger audience.