Stardew Valley's Eric Barone is "eager" to get back to working on Haunted Chocolatier but wants 1.6 "bug-free and out to all platforms" first

Haunted Chocolatier
(Image credit: ConcernedApe)

Stardew Valley's Eric Barone says he's "eager" to get back to working on Haunted Chocolatier, but is focused on the farming game's 1.6 update for now. 

It's been almost a week since we got the highly anticipated Stardew Valley 1.6 update, and Barone - aka ConcernedApe -  has already rolled out patch 1.6.1, 1.6.2, and has teased 1.6.3. The developer has had a lot to keep him busy, but this hasn't stopped him from giving a brief update on one of his other projects. 

Replying to a fan who asked for an update on Haunted Chocolatier, Barone said: "I am eager to get back to work on it. But I have to see Stardew 1.6 settled, bug-free, and out to all platforms first." Although we haven't heard much about the upcoming game in a while, the developer hasn't been completely radio silent about it. 

Just a day after Stardew Valley 1.6 went live, Barone gave fans a scrap of info about Haunted Chocolatier, revealing that one of Stardew Valley's new features has been "in mind from the beginning" for the developer's next game. The feature in question is tied to how the player uses a sword, which makes sense as we know combat will play a different role in Haunted Chocolatier.

Before this, we've had several ambiguous updates like a collection of Haunted Chocolatier screenshots with little to no context, some chocolate concept art, and another screenshot that might hint at a little of the upcoming game's story. Unfortunately, we're still no wiser about when we might get to experience the game ourselves as there's currently no release date for Haunted Chocolatier. 

Here's hoping we get more Haunted Chocolatier updates once Stardew Valley 1.6 is all wrapped up. In the meantime, find out why Stardew Valley speedrunners are racing to see who can chug a jar of mayonnaise the quickest.

Need a break from the farming sim? There's plenty of other games like Stardew Valley

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.