After 12 years, Stardew Valley creator still thinks he could "keep working on the game forever," but "at some point you have to move on"

Following the hotly anticipated release of Stardew Valley's recent 1.6 update, the indie gem's creator reveals that more new content could be in store.

It's been a couple of months since Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone launched Stardew Valley patch 1.6. While I've spent my time enjoying the azure fields and tending to the adorable raccoon family's quests in 1.6, I've often thought about the game's future and whether I'd pour over a hundred more hours into yet another big update one day. Fortunately for me, it seems that my farming dreams may come true (and I've not even had a lucky lunch today), as confirmed by Barone himself.

Speaking to PC Gamer about the future of Stardew Valley, the solo developer says that while "nothing is planned" just yet, he isn't going to "say the book is closed." If you're worried this sounds like the end of everyone's cozy go-to and its game-changing updates, don't be; Barone clarifies that he usually doesn't "make big plans" for his patches but rather prefers to just "see what happens." And oh boy, a lot could happen. According to Barone, he had "lots of earlier ideas" that he never patched through to the game in the end and he still thinks that "every aspect of the game could be enriched."

The legendary creator also admits that he could "keep working on the game forever" (which is great because I could keep playing it forever). Sadly, however, there is a slight catch: While it sounds like more content may indeed eventually be in the works for Stardew Valley, Barone first wants to focus his efforts on Haunted Chocolatier. Once the dev wraps his final tweaks for 1.6 up, he looks forward to taking a break to instead tackle the upcoming whimsical shop sim. Barone explains how he's "now spent 12 years" working on Stardew Valley, saying it's time to "focus on something new" after so long.

This lines up with what he's previously said, telling a fan in March he's "eager" to get back to working on Haunted Chocolatier but wants the content from 1.6 to be "bug-free and out to all platforms" first. As of now, 1.6 has yet to drop for console and mobile players, meaning that Barone is still trying to launch the massive update on every platform. The dev also recently announced another patch with 1.6 bug fixes for fans on PC. Once everyone gets their hands on 1.6, Barone sees any necessary changes to it "squared away," and finishes his spooky shop sim, I may just see the Junimo-themed farm type I've wanted forever come to fruition. Until then, I'll stare at Haunted Chocolatier screenshots and pet my dinosaurs in peace.

Can't wait for new content? Here are our favourite games like Stardew Valley.