# Goat Simulator
**Goat Simulator** is a third-person physics sandbox video game developed by the Swedish studio [Coffee Stain Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/coffee-stain-studios) and first released on April 1, 2014, in which the player controls a goat whose main activity is causing as much destruction as possible with deliberately broken ragdoll physics.[1](https://investgame.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Coffee-Stain_Information-Brochure.pdf) • [2](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/q-a-the-weird-wacky-success-that-is-i-goat-simulator-i-) It began as a joke prototype, went viral through a YouTube trailer, and became the studio's most commercially successful game.[3](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/goat-simulator-post-mortem)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Coffee Stain Studios, a Swedish indie studio founded in 2010, also known for the Sanctum series and Satisfactory[4](https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2%3A1797453/FULLTEXT01.pdf) |
| Release | April 1, 2014, on Steam for $10; later ported to iOS, Android, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms[2](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/q-a-the-weird-wacky-success-that-is-i-goat-simulator-i-) • [5](https://goatsimulator.wiki.gg/wiki/Goat_Simulator) |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3, chosen because the team knew it best and could work fastest in it[3](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/goat-simulator-post-mortem) |
| Development time | A two-week internal game jam, then about two further months to launch[2](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/q-a-the-weird-wacky-success-that-is-i-goat-simulator-i-) |
| Viral launch | The alpha trailer drew about 100,000 views in its first night and roughly a million views in a week[2](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/q-a-the-weird-wacky-success-that-is-i-goat-simulator-i-) |
| Reception | Metascore 62/100 on Metacritic for PC (mixed), from 39 critic reviews; IGN scored it 8/10[6](https://www.metacritic.com/game/goat-simulator/critic-reviews/) • [5](https://goatsimulator.wiki.gg/wiki/Goat_Simulator) |
| Franchise | Followed by Goat Simulator 3 (2022, with four-player online co-op) and Goat Simulator: Remastered (2024)[7](https://www.pcgamer.com/goat-simulator-3-review/) • [8](https://www.gamereactor.eu/video/701743/Goat%2BSimulator%2Bbetter%2Band%2Bslicker%2Bthan%2Bever%2BGamescom%2B-%2BInterview%2Bwith%2BCoffee%2BStains%2BJoel%2BRydholm/) |
## Origin and development
At the start of January 2014, Coffee Stain Studios was prototyping a new, larger intellectual property and lacked work for part of the team, so it held an internal game jam while pre-production proceeded. Goat Simulator was one of the craziest ideas from the studio's brainstorming sessions; the jam's stated goals were to experiment and to educate new programmers, not necessarily to produce a real game. After about two weeks of jamming, the team had a goat roaming a map and wrecking objects, and uploaded a gameplay video to YouTube.[2](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/q-a-the-weird-wacky-success-that-is-i-goat-simulator-i-) • [3](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/goat-simulator-post-mortem)
The video caught fire. It received about 100,000 views the first night and kept climbing; once it passed a million views, the studio decided that abandoning the project for its "real" game was no longer the best option and announced Goat Simulator as a real product. About two more months of work took it to launch.[2](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/q-a-the-weird-wacky-success-that-is-i-goat-simulator-i-) Time reported in February 2014 that the game would be sold for $10, and quoted the studio's own disclaimer that Goat Simulator is "a small, broken and stupid game" made in a couple of weeks, suggesting buyers might instead spend the money on a hula hoop, a pile of bricks, or a real-life goat.[9](https://time.com/6871/common-sense-prevails-goat-simulator-video-game-coming-soon-for-10/)
**Production shortcuts.** The team made several early decisions that saved time: no networked multiplayer, release only on Steam, a self-imposed limit of four weeks of development time, and few large meetings. Multiplayer was dropped partly because the game's heavy physics simulation would not transfer well over a network, and partly because Coffee Stain's experience with Sanctum 2 showed that multiplayer roughly doubles development time.[2](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/q-a-the-weird-wacky-success-that-is-i-goat-simulator-i-) Most art assets were bought from the internet and remade for performance rather than created from scratch; the goat's own 3D model cost $25 on the marketplace TurboSquid, bought during a 75% off sale.[3](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/goat-simulator-post-mortem)
## Design: bugs as features
Physics bugs were kept in the game on purpose. Coffee Stain's CEO Anton Westbergh explained that "bugs have been a feature from the start in Goat Simulator": the physics easily go haywire, and when they do, entertaining results follow, and keeping the bugs also saved development time. He added that this is not a practice he would recommend for other projects.[2](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/q-a-the-weird-wacky-success-that-is-i-goat-simulator-i-) IGN's Dan Stapleton described the result as a "clever interactive spoof of all the broken game physics we've seen in open worlds".[5](https://goatsimulator.wiki.gg/wiki/Goat_Simulator)
The lack of planning shaped the content. With no preset schedule, staff could implement sudden ideas immediately; one artist conceived a jetpack one afternoon and had it modeled and in the game before the day ended, and it became one of the game's most popular features. A joke in an interview, that giraffes are just really tall goats, led the animator to animate a purchased giraffe model within a week, and unlocking new types of goats became one of the game's most important features.[3](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/goat-simulator-post-mortem) Game designer Armin Ibrisagic said the concept was inspired by 1990s skating games, except the player is a goat and, instead of doing tricks, wrecks things.[10](https://www.gameskinny.com/culture/an-interview-with-goat-simulator-dev-armin-ibrisagic/)
After the trailer went viral, the studio deliberately rejected expanding Goat Simulator into a large, serious production with cutscenes, missions, and a $60 price, judging that the trailer had spread because the game was small, buggy, and a bit stupid, and that a "try-hard" version would lose its humor.[3](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/goat-simulator-post-mortem)
## Reception
Goat Simulator received "mixed" reviews upon release according to Metacritic, with a PC Metascore of 62/100 based on 39 critic reviews: 11 positive, 23 mixed, and 5 negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/game/goat-simulator/critic-reviews/) • [5](https://goatsimulator.wiki.gg/wiki/Goat_Simulator) [Individual](https://www.edgepedia.org/individual) scores ranged widely, from [PC Gamer](https://www.edgepedia.org/pc-gamer) (US) at 30/100 and Destructoid at 3/10 to IGN at 8/10 and Digital Chumps at 90/100.[5](https://goatsimulator.wiki.gg/wiki/Goat_Simulator) Westbergh observed that reviewers found the game difficult to judge fairly and that few reviews landed in the middle score ranges.[2](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/q-a-the-weird-wacky-success-that-is-i-goat-simulator-i-)
IGN's review called it a game that "isn't much of a game, but it's a hell of a good time", praising a small but dense map packed with jokes and bugs worth seeing, and several hours of entertainment from the jetpack alone.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/game/goat-simulator/critic-reviews/) Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead credited Coffee Stain with building in enough content, and expansion potential through Steam Workshop, to make the game more than a simple joke title. Rich Stanton of The Guardian was critical, arguing that the game's self-awareness of its poor quality, and its creation and promotion, showed how social media and the internet amplify people's supine tendencies.[5](https://goatsimulator.wiki.gg/wiki/Goat_Simulator) The game was named an honorable mention for Excellence in Audio at the 2015 [Independent Games Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/independent-games-festival).[5](https://goatsimulator.wiki.gg/wiki/Goat_Simulator)
**Commercial outcome.** Ibrisagic said his first reaction to piracy was "Hooray! We're top on Pirate Bay", noting that Goat Simulator was the second most pirated game on the site after [Minecraft](https://www.edgepedia.org/minecraft), and that even with the piracy the game turned the studio's fortunes around and gave it freedom to work on bigger projects.[11](https://www.pcgamesn.com/indie/goat-simulator-dev-piracy-my-first-reaction-was-hooray-we-re-top-pirate-bay) The post-mortem states plainly that it is the most successful game Coffee Stain has ever made.[3](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/goat-simulator-post-mortem)
## Franchise and legacy
The original spawned a series. Goat Simulator 3, the second mainline game despite its title, added online co-op multiplayer for up to four players and multiplayer minigames across an open world.[7](https://www.pcgamer.com/goat-simulator-3-review/) Reviewers of the sequel were split: PC Gamer treated the task of a bigger sequel to a foundational joke physics game as difficult, while GamesRadar+ called it "dumb fun in short bursts" whose open world reveals the limits of the joke's entertainment value.[7](https://www.pcgamer.com/goat-simulator-3-review/) • [12](https://www.gamesradar.com/goat-simulator-3-review/) The series has continued to receive content, including the Baadlands: Furry Road DLC for Goat Simulator 3 and a mobile release of that game in December 2023.[13](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/goat-simulator-3-baadlands-preview) • [14](https://www.goatsimulator3.com/it/)
For the original game's tenth anniversary, Coffee Stain released Goat Simulator: Remastered, which bundles the original with its DLC and updates the visuals; critics described it as a good way to experience the game that made gaming's silliest goat infamous, with humor that still reads as relevant a decade later.[8](https://www.gamereactor.eu/video/701743/Goat%2BSimulator%2Bbetter%2Band%2Bslicker%2Bthan%2Bever%2BGamescom%2B-%2BInterview%2Bwith%2BCoffee%2BStains%2BJoel%2BRydholm/) • [15](https://www.metacritic.com/game/goat-simulator-remastered/critic-reviews/?platform=pc) The original's development story, a game jam joke turned viral hit, has been presented at the [Game Developers Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-developers-conference) as a case study in chasing seemingly crazy ideas.[16](https://gdcvault.com/play/1021373/How-Goat-Simulator-Really-Did)
## References
1. [Coffee Stain Information Brochure, InvestGame](https://investgame.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Coffee-Stain_Information-Brochure.pdf)
2. [Q&A: The weird, wacky success that is Goat Simulator, Game Developer (April 21, 2014)](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/q-a-the-weird-wacky-success-that-is-i-goat-simulator-i-)
3. [Goat Simulator Post Mortem, Game Developer (Armin Ibrisagic, February 20, 2015)](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/goat-simulator-post-mortem)
4. [Master's thesis, DiVA portal: Coffee Stain Studios founded 2010, known for Goat Simulator and Satisfactory](https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2%3A1797453/FULLTEXT01.pdf)
5. [Goat Simulator, Official Goat Simulator Wiki](https://goatsimulator.wiki.gg/wiki/Goat_Simulator)
6. [Goat Simulator PC Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/goat-simulator/critic-reviews/)
7. [Goat Simulator 3 Review, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/goat-simulator-3-review/)
8. [Goat Simulator better and slicker than ever, interview with Coffee Stain's Joel Rydholm, Gamereactor](https://www.gamereactor.eu/video/701743/Goat%2BSimulator%2Bbetter%2Band%2Bslicker%2Bthan%2Bever%2BGamescom%2B-%2BInterview%2Bwith%2BCoffee%2BStains%2BJoel%2BRydholm/)
9. [Common Sense Prevails: Goat Simulator Video Game Coming Soon for $10, Time (February 12, 2014)](https://time.com/6871/common-sense-prevails-goat-simulator-video-game-coming-soon-for-10/)
10. [An Interview with Goat Simulator Dev Armin Ibrisagic, GameSkinny (April 9, 2014)](https://www.gameskinny.com/culture/an-interview-with-goat-simulator-dev-armin-ibrisagic/)
11. [Goat Simulator dev on piracy, PCGamesN](https://www.pcgamesn.com/indie/goat-simulator-dev-piracy-my-first-reaction-was-hooray-we-re-top-pirate-bay)
12. [Goat Simulator 3 Review: "A punchline that ultimately outstays its welcome", GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/goat-simulator-3-review/)
13. [Goat Simulator 3's new Baadlands DLC preview, Windows Central](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/goat-simulator-3-baadlands-preview)
14. [Goat Simulator 3 official site](https://www.goatsimulator3.com/it/)
15. [Goat Simulator: Remastered PC Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/goat-simulator-remastered/critic-reviews/?platform=pc)
16. [How Goat Simulator Really Did Become Our Next Game, GDC Vault (GDC Europe 2014, Armin Ibrisagic)](https://gdcvault.com/play/1021373/How-Goat-Simulator-Really-Did)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Game genres › Simulation and social games › Sandbox and open-world structures*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license