These initial matches first consisted of players trying to stack as many bales of hay as possible. “Also, that’s when we realized that that’s something that we could potentially do on a bit more professional level.” 'When the senior guys of AgriTechnica came by and saw how many people there were, I think that’s when they realized that they should do it again in two years on a bigger scale,” says Giants marketing manager Martin Rabl, speaking to Esports Observer. Initially hoping to draw the interest of younger attendees, all sides were apparently stunned at the overwhelming response. The first-ever sanctioned Farming Simulator competition took place at AgriTechnica 2017, a farm-tech expo in Hanover, Germany. There have been competitive versions of the game before, but now winning will come with a €250,000 (~$284,000) prize. Starting this summer, there will be a Farming Simulator league spanning two years and ten tournaments, ending at game-maker Giants own FarmCon in 2020. Now, the game is taking the challenge of virtual farming to the next level with a competitive e-sports league. The latest iteration, Farming Simulator 19, sold over one million copies in its first ten days. But when you can do it from the comfort of your computer chair with all the arduous physical labor and financial risk removed, the satisfaction of planting and harvesting has made games like Farming Simulator quite popular. Farming, as any farmer will tell you, is a massively complex and involved undertaking.

Farming simulator game