Stardew Valley Creator Gives Rare Update On Why Next Game Is Taking So Long

Stardew Valley creator Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone has issued an update regarding the development of his follow-up game, Haunted Chocolatier.

“Yep. I’m still working on the game,” Barone wrote on a blog post on the Haunted Chocolatier website just before the weekend.

“I know it’s taking a long time. A big part of that is that I am being very thoughtful about every aspect of the game. The things in the game which the player will be interacting with or using very often need to be ‘perfect’. They need to be seamless, clear, intuitive, satisfying, aesthetic.”

Barone adds that he’s currently having another glance over the recipe book for making chocolate which will be in the final version of the game.

“To me, it’s not a simple task, as I torture myself over every last detail,” Barone writes. “This is a UI you will be using fairly often, so it has to be perfect. You need to be able to accomplish your goal with the minimal number of clicks.”

In order to get this right, Barone says there “needs to be just the right amount of data presented to the player: not so much as to be overwhelming, but not so little as to be trivial or mundane.

“And the way that this data is laid out on the page is crucial… If the data is all clustered together, it will be disgusting to look at. The data needs to be grouped into compelling, intuitive and easy to read/understand groupings. It needs to look appealing and intriguing.”

ConcernedApe

As with Stardew Valley’s farming systems, Barone acknowledges that this is the bare minimum that players will likely take for granted.

“If all of that is accomplished then the player is now comfortable while perusing the recipe book. But I want more than just comfort. I want to delight the player. All of this typically requires me to iterate on something several times before I’m satisfied with it.”

Read More: Stardew Valley Free NPC Expansion Is Perfect For Divorced Players

Haunted Chocolatier Is Set To Be Bigger Than Stardew Valley

Barone has previously teased that Haunted Chocolatier is going to be bigger than his previous game, which is mighty impressive words considering how Stardew Valley has become many players’ “forever game” over the years, with hundreds of hours of content available.

He ends the blog post by writing: “And it’s a big game. So there are many things for me to fuss over. But, this is what it will take to make a game I’m satisfied with.”

Barone also acknowledges the lack of screenshots he’s shared of the game so far. He likens it to “serving a half-baked bread,” whereas he “would rather serve a fully baked bread.”

Haunted Chocolatier was announced back in October 2021, and has seen a few updates like these over the years.

As of 2026, Barone continues work on the game alongside work on Stardew Valley, which has been confirmed to be getting a 1.7 update which will introduce two new marriage candidates to the game.

On any given week, Barone says he spends five days working on Haunted Chocolatier and two on Stardew Valley. As of right now, it doesn’t have a release date.