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  1. Games
  2. Simulation Games
  3. Stardew Valley

Eric Barone says he just can't "let go" of Stardew Valley "to work on something that isn’t already established and meaningful to people"

News
By Jordan Gerblick published 5 December 2024

"Stardew Valley is a big and popular game, and I have a lot of attachment to it"

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Stardew Valley Abigail
(Image credit: ConcernedApe)
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Stardew Valley is Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone's pride and joy, and for good reason with more than 30 million copies sold, and he's expressed having some difficulty putting it down and moving on to other projects.

Of course, Barone announced his new project Haunted Chocolatier back in October 2021, but we've only heard crumbs of information and the odd screenshot in the years since. Well, in a new blog post specifically about Haunted Chocolatier, Barone revealed he's struggling a bit with how to balance development on new projects while keeping Stardew fans fed.

"It’s been a little sad to see Haunted Chocolatier getting dusty on the shelf… but this is the reality of my situation," Barone said. "Stardew Valley is a big and popular game, and I have a lot of attachment to it. I also feel a strong sense of duty and obligation to all the people who have bought Stardew Valley over the years, granting me this rare opportunity to be an indie game developer. So it’s hard to 'let go' of Stardew, even temporarily, to work on something that isn’t already established and meaningful to people."

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  • Stardew Valley character Haley, a blonde young woman with long wavy hair and bright blue eyes, against a blurred backdrop of a farm Expectations for Haunted Chocolatier are "a huge struggle" for Eric Barone, who worries people expect Stardew Valley 2
  • Haunted Chocolatier character jumping over bridge over a river "I am not going to abandon Haunted Chocolatier," says Stardew Valley's Eric Barone
  • Stardew Valley character Haley, a blonde young woman with long wavy hair and bright blue eyes, against a blurred backdrop of a farm Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone still feels "like an amateur" even with nearly 50 million copies sold

The rest of the blog very much reads like a commitment to still deliver Haunted Chocolatier at some point, with the substantial caveat that that undefined point is probably a long ways away. While Barone said he's done "a ton of work" on Haunted Chocolatier, he also admitted that it still needs a whole lot more before it's ready for release.

In the meantime, brush up on these Stardew Valley tips for making money, avoiding sleep, and growing the best darn farm you can.

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Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
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Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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