Teased a week ago with the changing colours post on social media, it seemed like the next game was gearing up for announcement. And sure enough, a few days later the Future of Farming Simulator had a concrete date for its reveal. 25/June revealed, rather fittingly, Farming Simulator 25. Which would only be coming for the newest consoles. PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Mac, will see Farming Simulator 25 arrived 12/November.
The cinematic trailer teased a few things that would be coming to the game. For one, farming is now taking place in a new part of the world in addition to the North American and Central European locations. East Asia. Though the cinematic trailer isn’t likely representative of the map we’ll see in the game, those mountains and the wild grass make for a nice change of scenery from the other locations.
Marking the addition of an East Asian location to the game are buffalo as livestock. And two types of rice as a crop. It’s not just those, as the announcement article says that more animals will join the current selection of livestock, with spinach as another new crop in the game. It’s said there will be well over 20 crops overall. Plenty of choice, then. With these new crop types come new vehicles to see them from sprout to harvest.
Speaking of vehicles, the daughter of the family these trailers are about was riding a motorcycle at one point. Is it possible we get them in the game? Is it possible we get a photo mode in the game? After all, there was a point where the two were taking a selfie together on the rice field. And it would make sense to have one as a showcase of the tech update the engine has seen to provide improved graphics and dynamic weather effects.
Production chains remain a thing, and will see new additions in Farming Simulator 25. Likely to include all the new materials that come from the other new additions. Along with that, the construction missions seen in the expansion maps of FS22 will make a return. These required many materials delivered to a particular spot to see the landscape change in some form. Will be interesting to see what multi-layered projects these maps might hold.
The Year 1 Season Pass has been revealed, with three content packs given name teases and a map expansion included. And… is it just me, or does that art showing the map expansion look like the Lake District of the UK? If that is revealed to be where this first of the expansion maps is, then my bias is going to show in having a new favourite. Although there’s every possibility the base game locations still beat it.
Along with that is the Collector’s Edition. This features the usual stuff such editions feature, like posters, stickers, an in-game special vehicle, and something physical (this time a USB Ignition Lock). What interests me is the bonus game that will come with it. Farming Simulator 16-bit Edition seems like it will take the series into an isometric viewpoint, complete with retro graphics.
The Collector’s Edition looks to be PC only, but I can’t help but wonder if Giants would release that 16-bit Edition on consoles as a separate, cheaper release. Would make for an excellent release on the Switch, after all. And I suppose PC players who don’t get the Collector’s Edition should miss out on such a retro-inspired treat, either. We’ll see in the coming months whether it’s a timed exclusive or really is a true Collector’s Edition bonus.
It does feel good to have a new Farming Simulator to look forward to. A lot will be revealed about this new game in the coming months, with focused information about all that is new. And it seems that will start with FarmCon, this year taking place on 6-7/July. If the information cycle for Farming Simulator 22 is anything to go by, we’ll likely see something most weeks until release.
Images Taken From:
Farming Simulator 25 | Giants Software Press Center
