Coral Island shows pulling off Stardew Valley's multiplayer isn't easy, as the farm sim's devs "sincerely apologize" for the single-player bugs and other issues that crept into its latest update

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The long-awaited 1.2 update launched last week

Coral Island 1.1 update art showing a young female farmer standing happily beside an older merman while merfolk and sea creatures surround them
(Image credit: Stairway Games)

Stardew Valley offers some pretty seamless co-op, but that doesn't mean multiplayer is easy to implement into farming sims for developers – and Coral Island is proof.

Just days after releasing its long-awaited multiplayer update, independent developer Stairway Games is taking to the web to post a formal apology to fans. The 1.2 patch, which came nearly three years following Coral Island's early access debut on Steam in 2022, hasn't been smooth sailing. As recently flagged on social media and the game's official discussion board on Steam, the update has resulted in various bugs – especially in single-player.

Stairway Games has been keeping an eye on fans' feedback, however, as shown in the devs' latest post online. Although the update has "made Coral Island the most stable it's ever been," the studio writes, "we hear you loud and clear, some old bugs have resurfaced with the transition to multiplayer, and we're working hard to smooth them out." The team continues, stating devs "want to sincerely apologize for the issues" fans are experiencing.

"We understand how frustrating it is to update the game and see some old bugs resurface," admits Stairway Games before outlining its plans to resolve the problems. Devs' "immediate focus" will be on "fixing single-player bugs caused by the transition to multiplayer" and "addressing the remaining connection issues so multiplayer feels smooth and stable." The studio is introducing paid overtime to patch things "as quickly as possible."

It's clear the team is taking complaints seriously, and unsurprisingly, fans seem happy to hear it. "Thank you for the amazing communication," replies one player, "and congrats on 1.2." Another tells the devs that they're "all truly appreciated," calling their work a "labor of love" and complimenting their dedication to working on Coral Island from its earliest alpha stages to now – a sentiment I can agree with as a fan of the farming sim myself.

Stairway Games has more planned for its beloved game, too, with a Nintendo Switch release still in the works and a launch for the upcoming 1.3 update planned "for the second half of 2025, toward the end of the year" sometime.

Itching for even more? Here are our favorite games like Stardew Valley, and some of the most exciting new games to look forward to.

Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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