Nature’s Bounty: The Joys of Farming Simulator 25

My how it’s grown. GIANTS Software’s Farming Simulator first took root in gamer’s imaginations back in 2008, connecting to something primal in all of us—the urge to grow, to battle the elements, to put food on the table… even if IRL we struggle to keep a houseplant alive. It continues to flourish, and here we are, at Farming Simulator 25. A nice round number for a game that’s sold over 25 million units. GIANTS Software’s Lead Software Engineer Thomas Brunner took a tractor ride over to Intel Gaming Access to fill us in on this latest installment, and more.

For anyone not in the know, Brunner explains the appeal of Farming Simulator: “Plowing fields, growing crops, raising animals, cutting trees, and doing all the work a farmer does every day to bring food to the table. All in a peaceful environment, letting players do everything at their own pace. So, our player base ranges from young children who can play the game along with their parents, to young adults who want to take a break from a hectic day, to experienced farmers who love to try out the newest tractor or harvester from their favorite brand in the game.”

Farming Simulator 25 doesn’t mess with the magic formula. “We added new crops, animals, machines, weather effects, and greatly improved the visual fidelity of the game … [also] the lighting systems, working on soft shadow implementations, particle systems, volumetric lighting and water reflections… we made numerous upgrades and improvements across the board. Especially the new ground deformation feature is something that our community has been looking forward to.”

Community matters in the Farming Simulator world, as Brunner tells us. “One of the biggest additions to the game was the ‘ModHub’ … we officially support our modding community, share information, set aside QA resources for compatibility testing, and even share parts of the profits with them … We think that we created a unique product that combines the detailed simulation of farming and farming machines with a gameplay that leaves a lot of room for player creativity.”

The game’s longevity is testament to that, not that they are resting on any laurels. “My main responsibility is the continued development of our in-house engine,” Brunner explains. “Our ten-plus team developed an engine that runs on multiple platforms and supports a variety of features. We pride ourselves to have created a solid foundation with cross-platform multiplayer support, highly detailed machine physics, and an environmental simulation that is unique in the simulation title genre.”

It’s easy to underestimate the labor that goes into farming, and Farming Simulator. Brunner explains the complexity for us. “The engine needs to deal not only with the visuals—which certainly make up a lot of the game’s appeal—but also needs to take care about the crop and seasonal cycles across the whole map, keep track of the work orders of the production facilities, and most of all the machine physics. The physics simulation for complex agricultural machinery is one of the key factors. Our audience has come to expect the realistic visualization of all the moving parts of the vehicles and implements.”

GIANTS Software have done their part to meet those expectations, collaborating with Intel to optimize FS25 for CPU and GPU performance. “Intel’s expertise in hardware has allowed the development team to fine-tune the game for better multi-threading and efficient use of CPU resources,” Brunner affirms. “During the development of Farming Simulator 25, Intel’s tools and technical support were instrumental in addressing performance bottlenecks.” That done, Brunner recommends that players don’t neglect PC performance. “To experience the game at its best, a PC gamer should aim for a system with at least an Intel® Core^TM i7-10700 or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X CPU, 12 GB of RAM, and a graphics card like the Intel® Arc^TM A770, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070, or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT,” Brunner advises. “This setup ensures smooth gameplay, high frame-rates, and the ability to enjoy the game’s immersive environments and detailed machinery.” Just like tilling the soil, this investment pays off. “The game itself will be seeing more exciting content and updates, while we are working hard on continuously improving and maxing out the potential the awesome technology partners like Intel are offering.”

Farming Simulator 25 is available for pre-purchase now (us farmers like to plan ahead), but after launch, what next for GIANTS Software? “We are looking forward to publishing the first externally developed title running on the GIANTS engine,” Brunner enthuses. “Especially as our partners want to include several of the features that make the Farming Simulator franchise so popular.” After 25 editions, that sounds like smart sowing.

Pre-order Farming Simulator 25 now.