Stardew Valley dev ConcernedApe confirms why he’s adding new features in 1.6 update

ConcernedApe, the one guy behind Stardew Valley, said today that developing Haunted Chocolatier made him rethink some mechanics from his first game.

Stardew Valley is gearing up to rock our virtual farming worlds once again with the highly anticipated 1.6 update, slated for release on March 19.

While we’re thrilled to get iridium coffee and a new farm type, the mystery behind ConcernedApe’s continued dedication to tinkering with a nearly decade-old game rather than wrapping up Haunted Chocolatier is burning in the back of many fans’ minds.

After all, Haunted Chocolatier has been in development since 2020, and instead of getting a release date, we see ConcernedApe tweet snippets of the upcoming Stardew Valley update every day.

It turns out that Eric Barone’s work on his upcoming project, Haunted Chocolatier, led him to reevaluate some of the mechanics in Stardew Valley. In a tweet reply today, Barone confessed that his work on Haunted Chocolatier prompted him to revisit Stardew Valley and implement changes based on his newfound insights.

While the 1.6 update will introduce a flashy new island and alternative Joja Mart endings, it also demonstrates Barone’s unwavering commitment to refining and perfecting his craft in the tiny details. Instead of solely applying his learnings to his upcoming game, ConcernedApe also dedicated time to refining minor flaws in his debut game, a move that shouldn’t go unnoticed by bigger game companies.

So far, ConcernedApe has announced a rework for character movement, weapon reach, and fruit tree drops. Perhaps when Stardew Valley 1.6 drops, we’ll see a Haunted Chocolatier and Stardew Valley collab in the game.