Stardew Valley Gamers Marking Their Calendars For 2026

Stardew Valley players are very much looking forward to next year.

As for why, well, Stardew Valley will officially celebrate its 10-year anniversary in 2026.

I can’t quite believe how quickly time has flown.

It was on 26 February 2016 that Stardew Valley first landed, so the anniversary is actually just over five-months away.

You may then think that fans are wondering what might be coming to the game in celebration of this momentous occasion.

That’d be incorrect, however.

Instead, fans are trying to work out what they can do to show their appreciation to developer Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone.

Barone, if you’re reading this, look away now.

“The 10 year anniversary is coming up, 2026.02.26. Can the community do something for ConcernedApe to show appreciation?” asked Reddit user Dodecahedrus. “PC players could make a mod having all townspeople thank him or something like that.”

A very sweet idea.

“We should get him a gold statue,” replied BioDriver.

“Buy screen time with a visual at Times Square celebrating 10 years of Stardew Valley. I’ve seen people do it before with VTubers,” added DedicatedDetective34.

“Everyone wear purple shorts,” joked RubyStar92.

“People could maybe put together a screenshot of their farms, with a thank you message, and then someone could compile it all together? It's low effort for contributors, but I acknowledge it wouldn't be for whomever puts it together,” Carmen9898 suggested, which I think is a great idea.

As they detail, it’s a low-cost way for fans to show their immense appreciation, and it’s the sentiment that counts at the end of the day.

It’s lovely to see fans being so giving regarding this whole occasion.

They care not for what they’ll receive; they just want to show their thanks and that’s a testament to the wonderful relationship that Barone has fostered with the Stardew Valley community.

All of this being said, it’s perhaps interesting to consider whether anything might arrive as a treat for fans.

The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the title lacks a release date although that’s due to land in the remainder of 2025.

As a reminder, some of the features included will be made available across all platforms.

We know Barone is working on Update 1.7 too, but I’m imagining that won’t arrive for quite some time.

Perhaps there could just be some kind of in-game seasonal event.

The bottom line is it’ll be a nice day to celebrate the legacy of an all-time great. I wonder what the next decade will bring?