Stardew Valley creator explains that releasing 1.6 update on PC first was to avoid "critical bugs," but "never intended for the delay to be this long"

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Not the types of bugs found in the mines

Stardew Valley character known as Elliott, a man with long auburn hair and a red coat
(Image credit: ConcernedApe)

Alongside announcing the November 4 release date for the highly anticipated Stardew Valley 1.6 update for consoles and mobile, creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone peeled the development curtain back to let us get a closer look at how they determine when an update is finally ready for showtime. 

Barone announced the release date of the 1.6 update on Twitter this past Sunday. Which led to questions from fans – and no it's not about chugging mayonnaise – including one player curious about why Barone doesn't wait until all of the platforms are ready to go instead of releasing them piecemeal.

"I've always released on PC first, because it's sort of a 'beta test' to make sure there are no critical (e.g. save-destroying) bugs," said Barone, "which are a much bigger deal on consoles because they can't be patched out as quickly. However, I never intended for the delay to be this long"

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Game development is tricky, and things don't always go as planned. The Stardew Valley 1.6 update released on PC roughly six months ago, and it's clear that wasn't Barone's intention, and it has in fact, it's been on his mind every minute. But better to be safe than sorry when potentially messing up the hard work of a farmer. 

The good news is Barone mentions that you don't have to start a new farm to enjoy "almost everything" the update has to offer. So luckily you won't have to redo all of your spreadsheets or farm-planning prep if you don't want to. However, for those already itching for the rush of freshly tilled soil, he says, "if you have any interest in starting a new farm it would be ideal to start fresh. Some of the new things, for example, are different in year 1 than in year 2+. Besides, it's fun to start a new farm right?"

After 1.6 hits consoles and mobile, maybe Barone will get back to work on his next game, the delicious-looking Haunted Chocolatier.

If you're looking for something to hold you over in the meantime, check out 10 other games that are just like Stardew Valley  

Jesse Vitelli
Jesse Vitelli
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Jesse is a freelance games journalist with almost a decade of experience. He was the Associate Editor at Prima Games for three years and then moved into the world of freelancing where you might have seen his work at the likes of Game Informer, Kotaku, Inverse, and a few others. You can find him playing the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV or whatever hot new multiplayer game his friends are playing.