RIP Farmville: The Facebook App that Shockingly Changed Gaming

There was a time when Facebook was reserved for students. Then Facebook grew, offered new features, and became overran with applications. By this point in time it seemed like Facebook users didn’t want to be students; they wanted to be farmers.

In 2009, Farmville became a surprise internet sensation. Released on Facebook, the game had over 30 million active users by the end of the year. Anyone who got caught in the craze remember their weeks of planting crops, watering them, and watching them grow. They’re more likely to remember the years of notifications, advertisements, and requests that bloated Facebook after the game accumulated more users.

At the very end of 2020, Adobe pulled the plug on Flash. After Dec. 31, 2020, Facebook no longer supports games requiring Flash. While it’s likely that you haven’t touched your Farmville farm in about a decade, there’s no denying the impact of the game. Its structure would be imitated by other applications and games years after its success. There were moments when Farmville brought joy into our lives. Now that the game is gone, its legacy will likely be defined by the ways it ruined Facebook and laid the blueprint for freemium gaming.

Why Was Farmville Popular?

Farmville gave users a simple plot of land and allowed them to grow virtual crops. They would grow in “real time,” meaning you might need to wait a few days before they could be harvested. This enticed users to…