Farming Simulator 22

Farming Simulator 22 is the current major entry in the farming simulation series from the Austrian studio Giants Software, offering on Xbox Series X/S expansive open environments with changing seasons that, for the first time in the series' history, affect crop growth, snow on the fields, and farm work throughout the entire calendar year. The game covers the complete farming cycle, from plowing, sowing, and fertilizing through spraying and harvesting to storage, livestock breeding, and selling produce on the market, while the vehicle roster includes hundreds of licensed machines from dozens of real farming equipment manufacturers such as John Deere, Case IH, Fendt, and New Holland. A cooperative mode for up to sixteen players lets you share a farm with other people and split up the work across expansive maps such as the default Elmcreek, with one player able to work a field by tractor while another manages storage or livestock.

On the new generation of consoles, the game can rely on more detailed field and vegetation textures, smoother weather simulation, and a more stable frame rate even when operating multiple larger machines at once, which used to be a weak point in earlier console versions. The sound design, with the rumble of tractor and combine engines and the sounds of farm animals, does a good job of conveying the feeling of real farm work on your own land, whether during quiet evening hours or a hectic harvest race against the arrival of rain.

Over the years, the Farming Simulator series has built a surprisingly wide and devoted fanbase that appreciates the meditative pace and depth of the farming simulation with no time pressure. Farming Simulator 22 keeps that tradition alive well on the new generation of consoles and remains the go-to choice for anyone who wants to try virtual life on a farm, from a single field all the way to a sprawling agricultural empire.

Why play it: Anyone looking for a meditative pace with no time pressure will find in Farming Simulator 22 the go-to choice for virtual farm life, from a single field all the way to a sprawling agricultural empire.