Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone still feels "like an amateur" even with nearly 50 million copies sold, but he hopes that'll help Haunted Chocolatier keep its "indie soul"

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"My mindset is that I never think of myself as a master of anything"

Stardew Valley character Haley, a blonde young woman with long wavy hair and bright blue eyes, against a blurred backdrop of a farm
(Image credit: ConcernedApe)

After 15 years of development, 10 years of post-launch support, and an adoring fanbase in the millions, you might think that Stardew Valley creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone would now feel like an accomplished game developer. Not so, apparently – he still feels like an amateur, and he's hopeful that sentiment will keep Haunted Chocolatier's indie spirit intact.

"I'm a very amateur developer," Barone tells IGN. "I still feel that way. I'm just a total amateur." That's why, he says, bringing in more developers to help with Stardew Valley on things like localization and multiplayer has been so helpful, but he still describes his approach to making games as "very scrappy."

Dustin Bailey
Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

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