Feature
How Real Farm Sim Could Challenge Farming Simulator
SOEDESCO announced Real Farm Sim in August 2017 with a promise of new mechanics and new-generation graphics. Taking on Farming Simulator would need more than good screenshots.
On August 1, 2017, Dutch publisher SOEDESCO announced Real Farm Sim, a new farming simulator for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, planned for the fourth quarter of 2017, with PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One X and Nintendo Switch support to follow.
SOEDESCO executive manager Hans van Brakel explained the decision in the announcement: “We noticed a lot of interest in the farming simulator genre, but we feel nobody’s really bringing anything new to the table. With Real Farm Sim, we want to improve the farming simulator experience with new-gen game mechanics and new-gen graphics. The game is called Real Farm Sim for a reason: it gives players the real farming experience.”
Encouraging screenshots, one concern
Triangle Studios is building the game in Unity, and the first screenshots were promising: recognisable types of modern equipment in convincing farm settings, with realism clearly the priority.
One thing was missing: none of the machines carried a real brand. The Farming Simulator series, the genre’s benchmark, has included a large roster of licensed machinery for years. In a game selling itself on realism, the absence of real equipment could hurt. If the final game lacks licences, Real Farm Sim will need to make up for it elsewhere, and the places where competitors fall short are well known.
Where Farming Simulator is vulnerable
Farming Simulator has long delivered an enjoyable farming game on PC, consoles and handhelds. It has also long been criticised for dated visuals and, at times, unrealistic physics.
Its modding community has gone further than the developer in places. The Seasons mod for Farming Simulator 17 adds a calendar year, seasons and real consequences from weather, which leaves many fans asking why GIANTS has not built something similar into the game. It shows two things: such features are possible, and players want them. Real Farm Sim could take advantage of both.
What could set it apart
Farming Simulator still sells well and works reliably, and dethroning it will be hard. Real Farm Sim’s best chance is to deliver what fans have wanted for years.
Weather and ground conditions. Realistic weather and terrain that responds to it, such as mud leaving ruts under wheels, are long-standing requests. Farm Expert 2017 tried a similar focus on machine operation, maintenance and ground deformation, but bugs that broke the game and the immersion sank it with most players.
Seasons. Done well, seasons would force careful planning of sowing, fertilising and harvest, and add a degree of risk that farming sims have so far offered only through mods. That alone could attract experienced virtual farmers and newcomers.
Why competition matters
Competition drives innovation, and Farming Simulator has had no serious challenger for a long time. A strong Real Farm Sim would raise the bar not only for itself but for the next Farming Simulator. A weak one would simply confirm the incumbent’s position.
Triangle Studios will succeed if Real Farm Sim plays as well as Farming Simulator, matches the realism of its screenshots and adds features that genuinely deepen the simulation. If that is what it delivers, farming fans, and players who have never tried the genre, are in for a treat.
What happened next
The game came out in October 2017 under the shorter name Real Farm, on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and later reached Nintendo Switch. It did not dethrone anyone. Reviews pointed to the same issues that had sunk earlier challengers: rough physics, technical problems and a thin feature list compared with the established series.
Farming Simulator 19 arrived a year later with the series’ first John Deere licence, which widened the gap on the one point this preview flagged. Seasons, the feature fans most wanted, stayed a mod in Farming Simulator 19 too; GIANTS only built a seasonal cycle into the base game with Farming Simulator 22 in 2021.
The pattern holds beyond this one release. Farming fans have wanted deeper simulation for years, but the games that tried to offer it shipped with too many rough edges, and players went back to the series that simply worked.
Questions readers ask
Who made Real Farm Sim?
Real Farm Sim was developed by Triangle Studios in the Unity engine and published by SOEDESCO, based in the Netherlands. It was announced on August 1, 2017 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
What is the Seasons mod for Farming Simulator 17?
A community mod that adds a calendar year, seasons and weather consequences to Farming Simulator 17. Its popularity showed demand for features the base game lacked.