Nov 20, 2025

Grow a Farm: How Two Gaming Influencers Built a Top-Ranked World with Zero Development Experience

Here’s a story you can’t make up: two content creators, one a full-time college student and neither with any serious background in game development, team up to create a quirky farming sim. Within weeks of launch, this homespun world gains so much traction it cracks the top 10 most-played worlds (ranked by total time spent) on mobile within two months. That’s a rare feat for any world, let alone one built by total newcomers.

Explaining the success of Grow a Farm⁠ is trickier than pointing to the stats. The gameplay is part of the answer: it’s an incredibly well-executed experience where the simple routines of planting, harvesting, and selling crops take on a joyfully soothing rhythm. But the real story here goes deeper than gameplay. It reveals how an unlikely duo translated influencer magic and community hustle into a runaway hit. Grow a Farm is proof that with the right mix of vision, engagement, and a dash of playful collaboration, worlds can thrive beyond even the wildest expectations. From Brawl Stars influencers to game designers and developers, creators Dinco and SnakeThug7 represent one of the most intriguing studies in Worlds success yet.

From Dorm Life to Virtual Farming

Picture this: Dinco, a full-time university student juggling classes, coding, and campus life, somehow finds time to build a hit game from scratch. His journey started at age 13 in a primary school code club, but over the years he stacked up skills in video editing, music, and creative storytelling. Eventually, these diverse interests would lead him to launch his own YouTube channel⁠ as a creative outlet. One of Dinco’s earliest obsessions was Brawl Stars, which inspired his content in the form of original songs and visually slick YouTube Shorts.

Enter SnakeThug7, one of the most popular Brawl Stars influencers with over 3 million highly-dedicated followers and a reputation for setting the bar high on content quality. SnakeThug7 didn’t just stumble across Dinco, but actively sought him out after being impressed by the polish and creativity of his short-form content. For SnakeThug7, building a channel with consistently excellent content was a top priority and Dinco’s work fit the bill perfectly. Their partnership kicked off with video editing and content collaborations. For nearly two years, they worked side-by-side, sharpening each other’s skills and building trust.

A friend told [SnakeThug7] about the opportunity to earn money through the Meta Horizon Creator Program … he saw it as a good opportunity to make a little side business.

Dinco

The leap to game development came when Dinco casually mentioned he was learning SwiftUI. SnakeThug7 immediately saw an opportunity, having heard about the Meta Horizon Creator Program (MHCP) and its lucrative offerings around earnings and experimentation. Despite Dinco’s lack of formal game development experience, his relentless drive and knack for learning fast made the challenge surmountable. As Dinco put it, “That was my first time ever using Blender, making any 3D models, so I tried to keep it as simple as possible.”

Development on Grow a Farm began with the basics: planting and harvesting crops. Features like having a shop and a thoughtfully designed inventory system were only added after each prior aspect of the game was perfected. To top it off, all of this happened in just two months of “tireless, tireless work,” squeezed between university deadlines and fueled by the incentives of the bonus program. The result is a testament to what’s possible when two creative and ambitious personalities join forces and go all-in.

Leaning into Mobile Game Wisdom, Iteration and Personal Touches

While developing Grow a Farm, both creators drew on their experience with mobile games such as Brawl Stars. They recognized their audience consisted mostly of mobile gaming fans, so they included features common in popular mobile titles, such as daily quests to encourage repeat play. Additional elements like a restocking shop and persistent progression were crafted to ensure there was always something new for players to experience each time they opened the game.

When it came to developing the in-game economy, finding the right balance was an iterative process. Dinco continually adjusted the value of goods based on testing and player feedback, refining prices, rewards, and the number of rare crops. The final system featured distinct rarities, with some crops offering straightforward plant-and-harvest mechanics, while others such as the fan-favorite “Cranberry Bush” provided ongoing yields and supported permanent progression. To further support player progression and prevent users from getting stuck, a quest system was designed to offer additional rewards and incentives at key milestones.

And for those who love a good easter egg, Grow a Farm delivers. SnakeThug7 insisted on adding hidden parkour challenges into the world, allowing players who explore and experiment to discover the “Silo” secret: a clever jumping puzzle tucked away for the most curious and persistent fans to unlock hidden rewards.

I wanted to make sure there was always something for you to do. Whether it’s a new quest, a shop restock, or a hidden challenge, there should always be something to discover.

Dinco

Many features in Grow a Farm also carry a personal touch. Several plants in the game are inspired by real-life connections and inside jokes. For example, the “Ily Lily” was added as a tribute to Dinco’s girlfriend, with its in-game price set to match their anniversary date. The Arabian jasmine flower was modeled by a friend who taught Dinco how to use Blender, and the “Ssstrawberry,” named for its resemblance to a snake’s head, was inspired by SnakeThug7’s favorite fruit. For Dinco, these details infuse the world with personality and soul, making the experience more meaningful for both the creators and their community.

Sowing the Seeds: How a Loyal Community Became a Player Base

The explosive growth of Grow a Farm was no accident. It was powered by the influence and reach of SnakeThug7, a bona fide streaming influencer. Known for his energetic content and deep connection with his millions of fans, SnakeThug7 commands a truly impressive following in the mobile gaming world.

Rather than relying solely on traditional promotion, the two creators focused on direct engagement with SnakeThug7’s massive fanbase. The popular content creator regularly mentioned Grow a Farm in his videos and social channels, personally inviting followers to try the game and become part of its early community. But what really set their strategy apart was the unique incentive they offered: players who joined in, provided feedback, or completed in-game challenges could earn a spot on SnakeThug7’s Brawl Stars friends list.

For fans, this was more than just a reward. It was a certified flex. Having SnakeThug7 on your friends list is a rare badge of honor, something players could show off as proof of their connection to a top-tier influencer. This kind of meaningful, hard-to-get recognition proved pivotal in driving engagement, motivating players to participate, and helping Grow a Farm stand out in the crowded world of social games.

As word of Grow a Farm spread, SnakeThug7’s Discord server, which currently has over 116,000 members, became the heart of a thriving player community. Here, players reported bugs, shared feedback, and claimed in-game rewards through a dedicated ticketing system powered by a Discord bot called Ticket Tool⁠. With this setup, players could open private tickets in specific channels, visible only to them and moderators, to redeem rewards and provide feedback. The process was designed to make participation engaging, where each ticket submission doubled as both a reward claim and a feedback opportunity. SnakeThug7 noted that connecting this system to his exclusive friend list reward kept users motivated to share their thoughts while also ensuring that both positive and negative feedback reached the development team efficiently. This structure made every player feel like an active collaborator in improving Grow a Farm.

It’s worth exploring how this ticketing system worked in detail:

Grow a Farm was actively promoted on Discord, drawing new players into the community.

Players were encouraged to play Grow a Farm until they collected a coveted Rainbow Grape Seed, a milestone that required real investment and engagement.

Once a player earned a Rainbow Seed, they could submit a ticket in Discord with specific details about their achievement.

As a reward, players who completed this process could get added to SnakeThug7’s exclusive Brawl Stars friends list.

This system acted as a powerful growth engine. By tying in-game achievements to coveted social rewards, the ticketing system motivated players to spend more time in Grow a Farm, engage with the community more actively, and invite friends to join the challenge. The promise of a spot on SnakeThug7’s friends list turned everyday players into passionate advocates, helping both the community and game grow rapidly.

This word-of-mouth momentum, coupled with strong engagement, allowed the Worlds recommendation system to notice Grow a Farm’s popularity. The influx and staying power of SnakeThug7’s community shortly after launch (as reflected in the high amount of players searching for “Grow a Farm”) kickstarted the Worlds feed algorithm into reaching users organically. Grow a Farm's excellent retention rate also caught the attention of the content curation team at Meta, earning it additional support in terms of distribution.

What truly set the Discord community apart was its positivity and engagement. Members were consistently described as patient, kind and highly invested. Their detailed bug reports and thoughtful suggestions helped shape ongoing development, making Grow a Farm not just a product of its creators, but a collaborative project with its audience.

By blending influencer-driven discovery with a robust, interactive Discord community, Grow a Farm cultivated a loyal fanbase invested in the world’s ongoing growth. This grassroots approach to community management and feedback became one of the game’s greatest strengths, ensuring that the farm kept flourishing.

[Community Members] are switched-on … they’re explaining bugs, being incredibly helpful. And as mobile gamers, they know what they want in a game.

Dinco

Looking Ahead to Future Growing Seasons

It should come as no surprise that Dinco and SnakeThug7 are full of ideas for keeping Grow a Farm fresh and engaging. For starters, they’re actively exploring new ways to introduce seasonal events and streamline the process for adding unique content, aiming to build flexible systems that allow for ongoing updates and surprises. The duo are also considering the possibility of expanding the Grow a Farm universe with interconnected worlds, leveraging persistent variables so that a player’s inventory or achievements could carry over into new experiences.

While true multiplayer isn’t available for Grow a Farm yet, the creators are determined to find creative ways for their players to interact. Concepts like visiting each other’s farms, trading items, or introducing social hubs are all on the table, with the team closely monitoring platform updates that might unlock even more possibilities in the future.

My advice is: Persevere. Oh, and read the documentation.

Dinco

For first-time creators, Dinco’s journey offers a powerful message about perseverance and curiosity. Many of Grow a Farm’s most beloved features began as daunting technical challenges. But with determination, and a deep dive into Horizon’s API resources, solutions emerged.

Dinco relied heavily on the platform’s documentation and Tutorial Worlds to accelerate learning. The Custom UI Tutorial World and its accompanying documentation provided a clear blueprint for interface design, helping him quickly grasp core concepts and spark ideas for his own layouts. Additionally, the “Build Your First Game” Tutorial World introduced fundamental systems like managing game state and tracking players, while also unlocking the power of UI bindings. This feature, which initially seemed complex, became second nature through hands-on exploration.

The API reference proved invaluable throughout development. Its detailed styling options guided the creation of polished UI elements and served as a go-to resource for debugging. Dinco also tapped into the Camera API tutorial, reverse-engineering assets to build a custom cutscene tool. This innovation enabled cinematic touches like the sweeping camera pan at game load.

The lesson is clear: never give up on your ideas, keep experimenting, and don’t be afraid to learn as you go. With a passionate community, creators driven to keep innovating, and a roadmap full of new features, Grow a Farm is poised to reap the rewards of its popularity for seasons to come.

Key Takeaways

Cultivate your community: Whether you’re partnering with an influencer or leveraging your own fanbase, cultivating an active high-intent community can accelerate growth and engagement.

Build on a strong foundation: Starting with a solid core mechanic and layering features through iteration helps create an experience that feels polished and rewarding.

Design for your players: Understanding your audience’s habits and preferences ensures your world is tailored for repeat visits and lasting appeal.

Infuse personal touches: Adding references, inside jokes, and meaningful details gives your world a unique and “sticky” character that makes the experience memorable for both your team and your players.

Collaborate and play to strengths: Dividing responsibilities based on individual skills allows for more efficient development and a richer final product.

Embrace feedback and iteration: Asking for help, testing ideas, and refining based on community input leads to a better experience and stronger engagement.

Persevere and keep learning: Overcoming technical challenges requires persistence and curiosity, and a willingness to dig into the API and experiment unlocks new possibilities.

With the Meta Horizon Creator Program, SnakeThug7, Dinco, and many others are transforming their passion into success. Ready to build your own universe? Join the Meta Horizon Creator Program.

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