I had my first taste of Farm Simulator about a year ago when the 2022 edition launched, and to my surprise, it was a whole lot of fun. I honestly expected the game to be a bit of a meme, but I was quickly shown otherwise.
This morning I found out something that blows my mind even more. There’s Farm Simulator esports! A heart pounding, player vs player farming showdown. Sounds crazy, but it’s true, and with prize pools of over $100,000 it’s not for any old farmer with a piece of wheat sticking out their mouth.
What’s even more exciting is that the developers, Giants Software, have decided to build the, originally stand-alone competition client that was only available to PC players, into the actual game itself. Featuring two, sooooweeet PvP modes for players to get involved in, it looks like Farm Simulator 2022 is putting the game into high gear.
The two modes that will be added are Arena Mode and Bale Stacking Mode. While Bale Stacking mode seems more like a fast-paced, arcade-style bale-off, Arena Mode is where the true bragging rights lie, with a 3v3 team co-op battle where you even have a draft phase allowing teams to ban certain vehicles. The objective is to store as many bales in your team’s barn as possible, with bonus points for pulling it off with a bit of style. It’s not just as easy as transporting the bales to your barn, though, your team has to harvest the wheat, press out the bales and then make their way through an obstacle or two to get it to the barn.
Both modes will be added for free in the 1.10 patch that’s out now. Once you’ve had a bit of practice, maybe we should start a team and show those Americans how we farm down here in South Africa.