Stardew Valley creator promises no more updates until Haunted Chocolatier releases, but new updates will probably come after

Stardew Valley creator Eric ‘Concerned Ape’ Barone may be suffering from success. After the release of the beloved farming game, the developer has struggled to leave the game behind with new updates always cooking up. However, the developer has now promised that there will be no more updates until his new game, Haunted Chocolatier, releases.

Speaking to PCGamer at GDC, Barone explained that the pressure of Stardew Valley and the will to continue supporting the game’s extremely active fanbase is always calling to him. (Imagine the Green Goblin mask calling to Norman Osborn, but this time it’s cute and pixelated.) However, continuing to support the game is restricting progress of his new, exciting game.

“I do love Stardew Valley and I care about the fans and I want the fans to have a great experience,” the creator said. “So I’m always concerned with Stardew Valley and making sure that it’s doing well, and that pulls me away from devoting all my time to Haunted Chocolatier.”

“I’m committed to not working on Stardew Valley until I’m done with Haunted Chocolatier.”

STARDEW VALLEY CREATOR ERIC ‘CONCERNEDAPE’ BARONE

For the majority of last year, Haunted Chocolatier took a backseat to Stardew Valley 1.6, a massive update for the game on PC, console and mobile. While Barone was assisted by one of the community’s biggest modders, making the game bug-free and playable on all platforms was still a major challenge.

With the developer realising just how much of his time was pulled away from Chocolatier, Barone has now dedicated himself to leaving Stardew alone until Chocolatier is actually ready to release. However, there is still a wish to provide Stardew players with more content after the new game releases.

“The 1.6 update is pretty settled at this point. There were ongoing console ports and bug fixes, but it’s pretty settled now,” Barone explained. “I’m committed to not working on Stardew Valley until I’m done with Haunted Chocolatier… I think it’s in a good place. I feel very solid about it. I think if anyone picks up Stardew Valley for the first time in 2025, I’m very proud of it, and I think they’ll have fun with it if they like this kind of game.”

Alongside the constant pull back to Stardew Valley, Barone explained that working on the new game is also hard because he’s constantly re-doing old work. As a solo developer, the game creator explained that it just takes a lot of time to make a new game.

“Part of the problem of being, like especially a solo dev, is it takes so long to make a game,” he explained. “I’m literally a different person in four years, so it’s like my whole feelings about everything have changed—my aesthetic sensibilities have evolved.”

Barone joked that he should just shove himself in a cabin in the woods to focus entirely on the new game, cutting himself from the internet until he’s finally finished.

While Barone may be taking a much-needed break from Stardew Valley, it’s still being supported with amazing mods. Fans are creating entire villages based on Baldur’s Gate 3, brand-new mysteries and countless little additions. It’s a game that will live forever.