"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"

(Image credit: ConcernedApe)

Stardew Valley legend Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone is still working on his iconic farming sim, a good 10 years on now, with a 1.7 update currently underway as he also grapples with the development of Haunted Chocolatier – and he likely won't stop soon.

Speaking in a recent interview with IGN, ConcernedApe discusses what the game might look like after another decade. "In 10 years, there'll be a few more updates, which just make the game even more what it's supposed to be," he ponders. "I feel like with every update, I'm trying to make Stardew Valley its ultimate form, fully self-actualized. So hopefully in 10 years, Stardew Valley is fully self-actualized."

How will that come to fruition, though? "Maybe there's new things added to the game to make it even more future-proof, in terms of creative content or things that players can be almost a part of the process."

He discusses some ideas he's toyed with for 1.7, stressing he's not sure if they will actually happen, like a public farm editor that fans could use to share their custom homesteads with fellow players.

It'd be an option that "adds almost infinite replayability to Stardew Valley" – and that's one thing he certainly wants the farming sim to boast (although, as a hardened stan myself, I'd argue it already has basically achieved as much… you know, with over a thousand hours and counting in-game).

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Even though he wants Stardew Valley to be "infinitely replayable," as he puts it, he stresses that this ideal future would not include any use of AI whatsoever.

"I'm interested in ways to make the game more just infinitely replayable without the use of AI," ConcernedApe asserts. "That's never going to happen." With all the controversy that surrounds AI, I can't say I'm surprised – nor am I disappointed to hear his thoughts.

Overall, however, ConcernedApe hopes Haunted Chocolatier "will be out, and maybe by then, there'll be some new Stardew Valley IP stuff going on, too." He dubs his beloved game a "gold mine," saying he has "plenty of ideas" for it – "it's just a matter of basically bandwidth" now.

The renowned solo developer has previously admitted that he could "keep working on the game forever" and "for the rest of my life" while discussing the sim, so that checks out. ConcernedApe teased updates "maybe even 50 years from now" for Stardew Valley as well before unveiling 1.7.

Here's hoping we do indeed see ConcernedApe rolling out new Stardew Valley updates in a decade or so – along with whatever else he might mean by other "Stardew Valley IP stuff." I know I'll be looking forward to it, anyway.

Stardew Valley had "many" chances to become a movie or TV show, but creator ConcernedApe only had eyes for the legendary director of Twin Peaks: "'You can do whatever you want, Mr. Lynch'"

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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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