模擬山羊
是一款第三人稱視角動作遊戲，由瑞典遊戲工作室Coffee Stain Studios開發並發行。它於2014年4月發佈在Microsoft Windows平台，而後於2014年6月發佈Linux和macOS平台版本。Android和iOS的行動版本於2014年9月發佈。Xbox 360和Xbox One的版本於2015年4月發佈，PlayStation 3和PlayStation 4的版本於2015年8月發佈，這些家用機版本由Double Eleven開發。Nintendo Switch版本包含遊戲本體與所有先前的DLC，於2019年1月發佈。
遊戲開發者曾將其與滑冰遊戲相比較，但在這款遊戲中，玩家控制的是一隻山羊，目標是在開放世界地圖中造成盡可能多的破壞，而沒有其他宏偉的目標。該遊戲最初是在一個內部的game jam中作為一個玩笑的原型被開發出來，並且在YouTube上展示了早期alpha版本。這使其受到廣泛關注，並促使工作室將遊戲開發至正式版本，同時仍保留各種非致命的漏洞與秘技，以維持遊戲的娛樂性。
該遊戲收到了不同的評價。一些評論者稱讚其提供了一個幽默的沙盒介面，可用於自由實驗；而其他人則批評該遊戲依靠社交媒體來推廣了一個原本簡陋且漏洞眾多的產品。
《模擬山羊》是一款開放的第三人稱視角遊戲，而玩家所控制的主角是一隻山羊。 玩家能夠自由探索遊戲世界，並進行跳躍、奔跑、撞擊、舔物品等互動。 舔物品會使山羊的舌頭吸附在物品上，能讓玩家把物品拖來拖去，直到他們鬆開為止。在任何時候，玩家都可以讓山羊進入布娃娃模式，允許遊戲的物理系統來接管控制；而另一個操作能讓遊戲以慢動作運行。遊戲中有許多環境物件能讓玩家操控山羊做出特技動作，例如用彈跳床或大風扇把山羊彈射到空中。模擬山羊有個類似托尼·霍克系列等滑雪遊戲的記分系統，玩家能完成特技或一些動作來獲得分數，若玩家將特技組合成組合技，則會獲得分數加成，當組合技完成時，會直接將獲得的分數加倍。遊戲中會給玩家一些遊戲目標，比如達到某個高度、摧毀某些物件或完成翻滾動作，不過玩家不需要完全遵照這些指示遊戲。
遊戲世界中藏有一些小的金色山羊雕像。收集到這些雕像並重啟遊戲後，山羊就能在遊戲中使用一些裝備，或者是將山羊改造，例如把山羊變成惡魔山羊、長頸鹿或鴕鳥，或是給山羊裝上噴射背包等等。遊戲中也有許多彩蛋分布在遊戲中，比如能成為山羊女王的城堡，或是某個能獲得類似索尼克旋轉攻擊的地方。模擬山羊的研發組長在遊戲釋出後表示，模擬山羊以戲謔性的方式模仿了煉獄，並以此作為遊戲背景，也留下了一些與天堂和地獄相關的東西，而之後也被許多玩家在遊戲中發現。此外，Ibrisagic還提到了遊戲中，有以2014年烏克蘭革命為基礎的物件，然而在遊戲中其實就是一小群抗議群眾舉著荒謬和猥褻的標語。
當時剛完成新遊戲《》的，在2014年1月舉辦了為期一個月的內部Game jam活動，而《模擬山羊》一作原先只是在活動中展示的一個搞笑原型。研發組長形容模擬山羊是：「一個老派的滑冰遊戲，不過這次你並不是變成一個滑冰選手要表演特技，而是變成一個破壞東西的山羊 。」模仿《QWOP》用多個按鍵控制山羊的版本，後來被《托尼·霍克職業滑板》風格的設計所取代，並成為定案公開展示。Ibrisagic開玩笑似的嘗試讓同事相信山羊會像貓一樣，在網路上取得大量關注，並開始專注在山羊的項目上。
遊戲開發到alpha階段時，它的畫面就已經被做成影片，並由Coffee Stain Studios上傳到YouTube，在兩天內便獲得巨大迴響。 許多支持者也因為遊戲原型的眾多錯誤，希望他們開發一個完整的正式版本。 The appeal of the video was also picked up by the agricultural magazine "Modern Farmer". Some journalists suggested that the title be developed into a full game even knowing it was meant as a joking title; GameSpot editor Danny O'Dwyer supported the full release of the game arguing that "games should be dumb once in a while".
The large positive response to the alpha footage convinced the studio to develop "Goat Simulator" as a full title to Steam, putting more people on the title. The team, having no plans for a full release, debated on whether to approach a large publisher to receive funding to help make the title into something like "Grand Theft Auto", but decided to stay with a small, inexpensive title that would be truer to the teaser video. Recognizing that the glitching was part of the game's appeal, Ibrisagic only sought to fix software bugs that might cause the game to crash, leaving in the other glitches and bugs associated with the physics engine as the results from these were "really hilarious". They limited themselves to a short development time of four weeks without significant management oversight as to set an urgent but realistic goal to bring the game to a playable state. Ibrisagic felt it was important for the game to be supported on Steam, but initially feared that Valve Corporation would not accept the quirky title. He instead found Valve to be welcoming of the title, including a joking response from the company that stated "[Valve's marketing manager DJ Powers] has started wearing a goat costume to work he’s so excited about this game". As part of its release, Coffee Stain added support for Steam Workshop which would let players modify the game, aware that players would likely create levels and scenarios that will glitch and crash the game for humorous results. While the physics engine allows for spectacular rendering of destruction of the game environment, which is a main feature of the game, Coffee Stain acknowledged the downside of this as "it would synchronise terribly in multiplayer". They estimated that adding multiplayer would remove "90 percent of the physics" and many other features, and left the game as a single player title at launch. The studio considered that it only spent a couple months to complete the Windows version, and opted to outsource versions for OS X and Linux, with Ryan Gordon handling the porting.
Coffee Stain Studios released "Goat Simulator" worldwide on 1 April 2014, aware that tying the date with April Fools' Day may raise doubts on the validity of the game. Those that pre-ordered the game through Coffee Stain's website received early access to the title three days ahead of release. The official release trailer for "Goat Simulator" is a loose parody of the highly praised teaser trailer released for "Dead Island", showing, among shots of the game, reversed slow-motion footage of the goat crashing through a building after being launched from an exploding gas station.
The studio released a free expansion and patch to the game on 3 June 2014, which in addition to fixing game-breaking issues, added new goat models, a new map to explore based on a seaside town with a carnival, more game-breaking issues, and local multiplayer for up to 4 players via split-screen. Ibrisagic believes that adding multiplayer support atop Steam Workshop support will allow creative users to develop new gameplay modes that will extend the title's playability. The patch also adds in additional controls that the player can use to make the goat perform various freestyle tricks comparable to those in "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater". The studio released a second free patch to the game on 20 November 2014 including elements that parody massive multiplayer online games like "World of Warcraft", though remains a single player or local multiplayer experience.
A paid-content expansion titled "GoatZ" was released on 7 May 2015 as downloadable content for the game on personal computers and a stand-alone application for mobile devices. It was developed by Coffee Stain's partner studio Gone North Games. The expansion's content spoofs zombie-based survival games, such as "DayZ", and includes a new map and gameplay aspects such as fighting off zombies and crafting. The title itself plays off "DayZ" as well as a play on the Internet meme goatse.cx. In a cross-promotional "GoatBread" update with Bossa Studios' "I am Bread" to be offered in late 2015, a free update to "Goat Simulator" will allow the players to select a piece of bread as their avatar, while "I am Bread" will add in a "RAMpage" mode based on "Goat Simulator". Another add-on, the "Super Secret DLC" package part of a cross-promotion with Overkill Software's "Payday 2"; the "Payday"-inspired content for "Goat Simulator" included additional playable characters including a camel, flamingo, and a dolphin in a wheelchair, while "Goat Simulator" content will be added to "Payday 2". These were released in January 2016. "Goat Simulator" decorative content was added to "Rocket League" in a mid-2016 update. Another expansion, "Waste of Space", was again developed by Gone North Games and released on 26 May 2016. The expansion features a new map based on a space colony, and spoofs much of the recent science fiction media genre.
The OS X and Linux ports were released on 27 June 2014. Following the game's digital release, Koch Media agreed to distribute the game in UK and EU retail stores starting in May 2014. Similarly, Deep Silver approached Coffee Stain Studios to work out a deal to publish the title in North American retail markets starting in July 2014. At Microsoft's presentation at the 2014 Gamescom convention in August, "Goat Simulator" was announced as one of several titles to be coming to the Xbox One platform with the help of Double Eleven studios, and later confirmed to be also arriving for the Xbox 360, with both versions released on 17 April 2015. Koch Media also distributed a retail version of the Xbox One version, including all additional downloadable content, across Europe for release on 4 March 2016. Coffee Stain Studios also released ports for iOS and Android in September 2014. PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 versions, also ported by Double Eleven, were released on 11 August 2015.
With the acquisition of Coffee Stain through THQ Nordic on 14 November 2018, it was announced that a Nintendo Switch version of "Goat Simulator" would be released. "Goat Simulator: The GOATY", which includes all expansions to date, was released on 23 January 2019.
"Goat Simulator" received "mixed" reviews upon release, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. "Goat Simulator" was named as an honorable mention for Excellence in Audio for the 2015 Independent Games Festival.
"Eurogamer" Dan Whitehead complimented Coffee Stain Studios on building in enough content "Goat Simulator" and potential expansion through Steam to prove it more than a simple joke title, and instead a brief diversion "in which the player is a willing participant". Dan Stapleton of IGN considered the title a "clever interactive spoof of all the broken game physics we’ve seen in open worlds" and despite being short, was a "hell of a good time". Tim Turi of "Game Informer" stated that the first hour with the game would be amusing, but due to the lack of more expansive features, he "[does not] recommend it to anyone looking for more than disposable entertainment". Steve Tilley of the "Toronto Sun" described the game as one where "most players will have a few hours of fun and then file [it] away as an occasional novelty to pull out when they’re especially bored".
Rich Stanton of "The Guardian" was very critical of "Goat Simulator", noting how the title is self-aware of its poor quality, and stated that the game's creation and promotion "demonstrates how social media and the internet amplify our supine tendencies". Andy Kelly of "PC Gamer" was also critical of the title, calling it a "bad, amateurish and boring game", and considered its popularity was only due to word-of-mouth and YouTube videos that enticed players to buy the game themselves.
While critical reviews were mixed, the game proved popular with players. The game's alpha footage, as well as Let's Play videos on pre-release copies such as that from PewDiePie, drew a great deal of demand for the game prior to release. Ibrisagic stated that Coffee Stain Studios made their money back on the development costs within a few minutes of the game being offered on Steam. As of August 2014, the studio has reported that nearly a million copies of "Goat Simulator" have been sold, outperforming their other games over the previous four years. The mobile release for iOS and Android systems reached 100,000 downloads within 6 days of launch. By mid-January 2015, over 2.5 million copies of the game were sold across all platforms. During a presentation at the 2016 Game Developers Conference, Ibrisagic revealed that "Goat Simulator" has made more than $12 million in revenue, compared to both "Sanctum" and "Sanctum 2" which made under $2 million each. "Goat Simulator" was seen as a disruptive title in contrast to typical AAA titles; Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester felt they needed to publish more games like "Goat Simulator", stating "You have to have an edge in there, and that's why I say 'more Goat Simulator and less Call of Duty' for Paradox, because we need the edge. It's easier to get out and market, it's easier to show what you're doing" adding that "People are tired of explosions and dubstep music. We've seen it a million times now".
With the success of the game, Coffee Stain Studios has worked to license out "Goat Simulator"-themed properties with third-party vendors. It also enabled the studio to become a video game publisher for smaller studios in 2017.
Several games have followed in trying to capture the same goofy style of gameplay with unpredictable physics engines as "Goat Simulator", including "Bear Simulator" and "I Am Bread". "Goat Simulator" as well as 2013's "Surgeon Simulator" are often considered the first examples of "YouTube bait" games, purposely designed to appeal to an audience watching the game being played but lacking any redeeming gameplay values.