Key Takeaways
- Barone is still working on Stardew Valley following the release of patch 1.6 on consoles.
- Barone is eager to get back to work on Haunted Chocolatier.
- We don’t know if 1.6 is going to be Stardew Valley’s final major update.
Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone has said he’s currently focused on optimising and bug fixing for the recently released 1.6 console patch, which saw Stardew Valley‘s biggest-ever update come to Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and mobile. It had been previously released on PC back in March.
As everyone is likely to know, Barone is also working on a new title, Haunted Chocolatier. It’s intended to be a game in the vein of Stardew Valley but with more action RPG elements, and as the name implies, you run a confectionary store rather than a farm. Barone had sidelined development on Haunted Chocolatier to perfect Stardew Valley’s 1.6 patch and bring it to every platform the game is available on.
Work on Stardew Valley Continues
In a recent post about the patch going live on consoles, Barone said “I’m looking forward to having 1.6 fully released on all platforms. Then I would like to finish Haunted Chocolatier next. Thank you.” Barone should almost be done with that task following a couple of bug fixes. He recently replied to a fan asking for Chocolatier updates with “There will be in time, but right now I’m focused on these Stardew updates,” (nice spot, GamesRadar+).
Barone has said in the past that he’s finished updating Stardew Valley, but he’s never stuck to that, much to the delight of Stardew Valley players. Although some have predicted that 1.6 will be the final major update to the game, Barone hasn’t explicitly said as much. It feels as if Barone will continue to update Stardew when he finds the time, as he’s continuously expressed how much he appreciates the game’s community and how he wants to give people new reasons to love the game.
As for Haunted Chocolatier, Barone has mentioned a couple of times that he’s eager to get back to developing his next game. Since its announcement in 2021, Barone has shared very little about the game, repeatedly saying he doesn’t feel any pressure to work on it and that he doesn’t enjoy sharing too much. We got a screenshot last September, but it’s been quiet since then as Barone continues to work on Stardew Valley.
The future is unknown, but Barone did specifically use the word “finish” in his latest update on Haunted Chocolatier, which could imply the game is in its finishing stages. Though that’s just conjecture on my part.
Haunted Chocolatier is a game in development by Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone. Similar to its illustrious predecessor, you’ll have to build up and run a chocolate shop. Barone has said gameplay will be more combat-oriented.