Stardew Valley’s 1.7 update could come out after Haunted Chocolatier launches, and we’re all ready to wait patiently

Who saw this coming? I definitely didn’t, but it’s true. Just like ConcernedApe always said, he’s never truly done with Stardew Valley, and now he’s announced another update on the way. No release date, no big details (classic CA), but of course the first thing everyone wondered was: what about Haunted Chocolatier? Isn’t this going to slow down the new game that’s still in early development, the one we’re all dying to at least get a demo of? Thankfully, the answer is no – he cleared that up in his latest post.

Stardew Valley 1.7 is coming – and Haunted Chocolatier is safe!

First, we learned that his new game will have a bigger world than SV, then we got a new Haunted Chocolatier screenshot, a nice reminder that he’s still hard at work on it. But then, out of nowhere, he posted another tweet announcing that a 1.7 update is coming to Stardew Valley, even though he recently said he was putting off SV work to focus on finishing Haunted Chocolatier. But he quickly clarified that this won’t slow down development on HC.

Normally, that would’ve been it, a quick little message from ConcernedApe. But this time, he went further. He actually wrote a longer post, breaking down in detail why working on the update won’t affect his progress.

Source: Stardew Valley; Developer: ConcernedApe

CA explained that he has a team helping with the SV update. For now, he’s mostly taking on more of a “creative director” role (or at least trying to, as he puts it) so he can stay focused on Haunted Chocolatier. The best part is that the whole team is working at a relaxed pace. Still, he mentioned that eventually he’ll need to step in more directly, since there are certain things he insists on doing himself, like composing the music. That means we can definitely look forward to some brand-new CA tunes, which, to me, hints at the possibility of a new area to explore. Just thinking about it gets me hyped!

No release date, no problem

As always, there’s no set release date for the new update, and CA even said it might end up coming out after Haunted Chocolatier launches. But if you’re a big fan like me, that’s not a problem at all. The “no release date” approach has always been part of what makes Stardew Valley so special, and I couldn’t be happier knowing the game is being developed without crunch or pressure. He also noted (like he has a few times before) that he can’t just leave SV behind, since it’s still hugely popular and continues to grow.

Regarding the team, he shared:

Source: Haunted Chocolatier; Developer: ConcernedApe

CA also mentioned that his team has been helping with Stardew Valley from the 1.3 update (the one that added co-op!) back in 2018 on PC, and later on consoles. So it’s been a while, and judging by all the updates since then – which have been absolutely fantastic – they’re clearly a well-matched team.

Getting such wholesome and exciting news in the middle of the week is exactly what we all needed. Now, up to collect some golden walnuts, shall we?

Stardew Valley

February 26, 2016

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• Eric Barone / ConcernedApe