Stardew Valley 1.7 update will add "2 more marriage candidates," and fans theorize they could be anyone from the farming sim's past villagers like Sandy to entirely new NPCs

It's been a solid 10 years now since Stardew Valley first launched into the wild and changed the cozy game genre for good, but developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone isn't done with it just yet – the 1.7 update is underway, after all, with new marriage candidates and more.

Speaking in a recent interview with IGN, ConcernedApe reveals as much, admitting that he doesn't want to unveil more "because I like for it to be a surprise." He simply states that he's "going to be adding two more marriage candidates" – but he doesn't say who they are.

The dev will lift the curtain on their identities "on the anniversary day" itself, which technically falls on February 26… a good few weeks away still. Unsurprisingly, though, fans can't wait to find out who they are (hi, it's me, I'm fans), and are taking to the web to theorize about who the new romanceables might be.

One such thread on Reddit sees its poster speculate that one of the two will "definitely" be Sandy, the Oasis store clerk. The comments range from hilarious suggestions ("Mr. Qi and the Auto Petter") to serious replies, with many echoing that Sandy is a valid guess.

theories? from r/StardewValley

A few folks suggest Sandy and the Wizard, looking to games that inspired Stardew Valley as a potential reason behind their logic. "I don't know how many of you guys have played the Harvest Moon games," explains one, "but in some of them, there are 'hidden' bachelor(ette)s. Characters who don't appear as romanceable, but once you complete a bunch of extra requirements, you can marry them. The Wizard and Sandy give me these vibes."

Other responses show guesses like Clint (who I personally cannot stand, just saying), Gus, Gunther, and Marnie – although I'm not sure she'd be down given her, erm, situationship with the mayor.

Elsewhere on a separate post about the mysterious upcoming marriage candidates, somebody suggests something entirely different: "I hope it's a new NPC instead of just existing ones becoming marriageable." Now, that would be cool.

I'd love to see somebody new, and I'm not the only one who agrees. In response, a fan writes, "Will probably be Sandy and Clint, but new characters would be great." There's no telling until the Stardew Valley anniversary later this month, I suppose, but I know I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a true ConcernedApe-style surprise. Could you imagine Mr. Qi living on your farm? Wildest dreams and all that, I suppose.

"That's never going to happen": Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe wants to make his farming sim "infinitely replayable," but only "without the use of AI"