Farming Simulator 22 has been a real harvester of success since it hit the market just a few months ago. In this interview, we spoke to Martin Rabl, director of marketing and public relations at Giants Software, a study that for more than a decade has been committed to simulating the farming genre.
The final installment (2022) of the simulator is reaping the rewards of quality seeds and sales that sprout like sunflowers in the spring, but how did it come about? What are the plans for the future? All this and more Martin tells us in this interview.
Farming Simulator has been around since 2008, 13 years after this first installment, what are the biggest challenges when developing new versions for the franchise?
Make sure everything fits. While everything simulation has grown a lot over the years, it has also become a lot more complex. Adding something new needs to match all areas and aspects of our simulated world. Another point is our multiplatform strategy, so we have to cover all the special requirements of different consoles and platforms. The third point, and not the least, is our community, which has grown tremendously over the past decade with your wishes and ideas.
It is true that the reviews can be different but we have to make sure that most of the features are customizable or optional. Even the original design of the game changed based on what the community asked us to do, one example is the increase in the number of days that made up a month of play.
Lately we have all kinds of simulators including one that lets gamers live the life of a goat with so many offers available, why do you think Farming Simulator stays in such a good position among gamers?
It’s for the quality. We offer you a serious simulation, on a real subject that everyone knows. And there are nearly endless options for customizing the experience (don’t want the grass to grow? You unplug the option!) And endless possibilities. We know that many people play with different profiles, in one they create an agricultural empire of corn and in the other a chicken farm. In addition, for whatever the player wants to do, we offer a fleet of more than 400 machines, it is not for nothing that they call us the Gran Turismo of the agricultural genre.
Xbox Game Pass contributed to the popularity of Farming Simulator
The latest Farming Simulator opus is a real success, it even managed to overtake some very big names in terms of sales and popularity, does that surprise you? Did you expect this welcome from day one?
We had already seen a huge number of them in pre-sale and received a lot of praise in the pre-release announcements, so we were confident that FS22 would be successful, but that it surpassed its predecessor so quickly was a huge surprise. A very warm welcome, yes!
The Xbox Game Pass had several editions of Farming Simulator in its catalog in the past, would you say that was positive based on the results? Will we have the opportunity to see other deliveries in the service in the future?
Subscription services are all the rage in the industry. We’re sure the inclusion of IP in Xbox Game Pass has extended our reach to gamers, and many who haven’t purchased the title have tried Farming Simulator. We are happy that people are joining our series and I hope we can convince them to be part of the group from the start.
Farming Simulator 22 takes us to North America and Europe, can we harvest South America, Asia or Africa?
We already had maps in other regions in previous installments, we are not limited to the US or Europe although most of our players live there. We always consider several locations, in particular to offer a varied and interesting product. At FS22 the selection followed the new harvests, we were looking for a place to place the vines and the sorghum fields.
If you had unlimited time and resources to launch the next Farming Simulator, what would you have included? What did they have to put aside in this edition?
It would get closer to reality with a lot more detail in the game. The real world is the target model for our type of simulation.
What are the plans for Farming Simulator next year? Downloadable content? Free content? New machines?
We have already announced the Year 1 Season Pass which includes three packs and a larger expansion which will also have a new map. We are also launching free content such as the Precision Farming DLC, which will increase the sustainability of virtual farms. And you can be sure that everything will also bring new machines.
If one of our readers has never played Farming Simulator before, what would you say to attract them to the magic of virtual harvests?
I welcome this new farmer! It is better to start in easy mode and play the tutorial for making the first raisins. Visit our website regularly farm-simulator.com to see our academy which gives more explanations on the agricultural context. A gigantic world awaits you, and it will be your choice that will determine the evolution of your farm and the type of business you want. Do you want to produce your own bread and supply your local pizzeria? Everything is possible! You don’t want to fertilize your fields or for stones to destroy your equipment? Disable these options so that you can have a more relaxed experience. Do you want to use modern heavy machinery or old-fashioned tractors? The vehicle fleet offers you everything you are looking for.
The crossplay multiplayer option also gives you the option to play with friends. Have fun and let the good times germinate!
