Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, the creator of Stardew Valley, has announced that a new update is in development for the popular farming simulation game, surprising fans after he previously stated that there would be no further updates until his next project, Haunted Chocolatier, was released.
Barone revealed the news during the Stardew Valley Symphony of Seasons concert in Seattle. In a video posted to TikTok by user jillbobagginz, Barone told the audience, “After that [last 1.6] update, I was thinking, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to make another update’. But I wanted to share something with you tonight, it’s kind of a secret… there’s going to be another update.”
Details regarding the content and release timeline of the upcoming update remain scarce. In April, Barone acknowledged that working on Stardew Valley development takes time away from Haunted Chocolatier. It is currently unknown how this new update will affect the progress of Haunted Chocolatier.
Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update, released last year, introduced a range of new features to the game, including new NPC dialogues, home renovations, and turtle pets. The game, which debuted almost a decade ago, has achieved significant commercial success, selling over 41 million copies across various platforms as of December of last year. PC sales account for a significant portion of the total, with 26 million copies sold. The Nintendo Switch version has sold 7.9 million copies. Barone has also stated that he has not directly profited from in-game collaborations with other games.
