Stardew Valley is one of the best indie games of the past decade if not ever. The open-ended country-life RPG, which came out in 2016, has sold over 20 million copies across all platforms, as of March 2022. But, while it has remained popular, it finds itself in big trouble due to factors outside of its control.
ConcernedApe designed Stardew Valley with a heavy emphasis on multiplayer. It’s not necessarily an MMO but the community plays a huge part in its success. Without a place for people to congregate freely to discuss ideas, Stardew Valley will likely suffer, just like others that are similarly reliant on Reddit.
As part of the still-ongoing Reddit Blackout, some subreddits, including r/StardewValley, are mulling an indefinite blackout, which could cause problems for the game’s developers and the game itself.
The social media giant is currently embroiled in a protest against its API plans, forcing several subreddits to go “dark” for a few days, in the first place. But, once the proposed period for the protest ended and Reddit didn’t budget, some decided to do it indefinitely, as already mentioned.
The crux of the issue is that Reddit’s plans pose a direct threat to third-party apps like Apollo, loved by users for having a slew of customization options, ad-free experiences, and a semblance of the traditional Reddit environment. Users fear that Reddit is transforming into an image-centric social network, steering away from its classic forum-like interface that, for a very long time, encouraged anonymity to a certain degree. However, Reddit management has been firm about not shutting down discussions or forcibly reopening communities. So, why is this causing an upheaval in the Stardew Valley community?
The Reddit blackout’s effect on games like Stardew Valley, albeit indirect, is significant. While Stardew Valley is just a drop in the bucket compared to Reddit, for the game, the community is everything. Without Reddit, the game suffers from many problems like reduced promotion, making the blackout’s impact potentially more damaging to Stardew Valley and other “smaller” subreddits than to Reddit itself.
In gaming, these subreddits play a crucial role in keeping the momentum of games, especially indie titles alive. It’s where players discuss gameplay, share experiences, and essentially help keep the game in the spotlight.
Stardew Valley’s community, like many others, is a place for gamers to find valuable information, strategies, and a sense of belonging.
When you take away the platform, Stardew Valley becomes less visible, and, in turn, less popular.
This blackout is unlike anything the platform has seen before. To make matters worse, it doesn’t seem like it will resolve itself anytime soon.
Outside of Stardew Valley, the blackout has resulted in an outcry from users reliant on Reddit for useful information from actual people. These individuals are finding it increasingly difficult to source reliable information in the blackout’s wake, adding to their frustration. As the blackout extends, a disconnection grows within the community, directly impacting the individuals and communities heavily reliant on such platforms for promotion and user engagement.
Despite the backlash, the Reddit administration seems undeterred. As some users pointed out, Reddit could always replace the larger subreddits’ moderators with ones friendly to the management, while the smaller communities won’t carry a lot of leverage. This protest, though highly visible, ultimately hurts the communities using Reddit more than Reddit itself.
In a nutshell, starting, and even worse, extending the blackout, essentially forces a boycott on users who might not have a care at all about the API changes.
While the community’s frustration is understandable and warranted, it’s important to remember that not everyone within these communities agrees with the blackout or its method of protest. Forcing others to participate in a protest does not necessarily win sympathy for the cause. Most users don’t have a stake in the API changes, making the blackout more of an inconvenience than a rightful protest.
