A Teenager’s Simple Roblox Farming Sim Smashes Records

A teen’s weekend project on Roblox has taken the gaming world by storm. Created in a mere 3 days, Grow A Garden launched back in late March with simplistic gameplay and straightforward objectives. Players plant crops to sell for in-game currency (Sheckles) and then use that currency to purchase upgraded seeds. As they garden, there are opportunities to discover new crop mutations and unlock a plethora of adorable pets. The game also features idle mechanics that allow a player’s plants to continue growing even while offline. The game is free-to-play, but for those willing to invest, optional Robux purchases are available.

Planting the Seeds of an Unexpected Phenomenon

On May 24th, Grow A Garden peaked at a staggering 8.9 million players. For reference, that very same day, PC gaming powerhouse, Steam, peaked at 11.6 million across their entire library of games. This little farming simulator on Roblox blew PUBG’s all-time peak of 3.26 million on Steam out of the water nearly three times over. It also contributed over half the numbers (roughly 52%) to Roblox’s platform-wide peak of 17 million concurrent users. In just a short time, Grow A Garden has cemented itself as one of Roblox’s most popular games of all time.

Growing A Garden, a Team, and an Audience

Following its initial popularity, the game has now come under the partial management and ownership of Roblox Studios, Splitting Point, and Do Big. Notably, the teenage developer still owns roughly 50% of the game. Much of the game’s virality can be attributed to social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts. The gameplay of Grow A Garden is relatively low-stress and therefore appeals to a broad audience, similar to the appeal of “cozy games” like smash hits Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing.

Controversy: When Success Looks Suspicious

This newfound Roblox sensation didn’t rise to stardom without its fair share of detractors, however. When the game began to garner traction, financial firm TD Cowen voiced suspicions that numbers were being manipulated due to spikes in regional accounts. However, Roblox later confirmed the legitimacy of Grow A Garden’s popularity and insisted it was driven by social play, strong retention amongst the player base, and Robux spending.

The Power of Social Media

Grow A Garden is a testament to the reach and influence of social media in today’s world. It didn’t engage in traditional marketing strategies, instead building a dedicated fan base across social media platforms. It trends consistently on both TikTok and YouTube Shorts and player-curated guides (alongside other forms of content), pulling massive views on YouTube. The community its fostered from initial word-of-mouth has proven to turn the simplistic Roblox game into a cultural phenomenon.