At the end of January, Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone uploaded a new post to his blog, providing an update on the current state of his upcoming game, the candy-themed life sim Haunted Chocolatier. In the post, Barone confirmed that the game is still in development, noting that it’s “taking a while to finish the game,” and adding, “That’s okay.”
Barone also admitted that he regrets announcing Haunted Chocolatier so early, and dedicated a large portion of the post to dispelling rumors surrounding the game. A few days later, in early February, he gave an update on Stardew Valley’s massive new 1.7 patch, and stated that his beloved farming sim “might not ever be done.”
In both posts, Barone sounds straight-up exhausted. His words paint a picture of someone who isn’t necessarily burnt-out on game development in general, but is tired of being hounded for details about Haunted Chocolatier, which does not yet have a release date. I’ll admit, I was over the moon when he first announced Haunted Chocolatier back in 2021. I love cozy life sims, I love chocolate, I love spooky aesthetics, and I love Barone’s charming pixel art. But for my fellow Stardew fans who, like myself, are awaiting its successor with bated breath, I have a request: Please leave Barone the hell alone. As much as I’m dying to play it, I really don’t care how long it takes him to finish Haunted Chocolatier.
Barone is a one-man development team who has made a massive impact on the cozy game genre and created one of the best farming/life-sim titles on the market today. Stardew Valley can stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and The Sims 4 — games that were created by massive, well-funded development teams. But unlike Nintendo and EA, Barone has never asked players for an additional dime. He’s spent the decade since Stardew‘s release pumping out massive content updates, all of which are free, as is the game’s co-op mode.
You can see everything Stardew Valley has to offer by purchasing the game for a mere $15 (or less, it frequently goes on sale). By contrast, Nintendo’s recently released (and extremely well-received) Pokémon Pokopia costs an eye-watering $70, not counting any potential future DLC. The Sims 4′s base game is now available for free, but it’ll cost you roughly $1,600 if you want all of the game’s DLC content. Animal Crossing: New Horizons costs $60, plus an additional $25 if you want the Happy Home Paradise DLC. Sure, Nintendo just released a huge free update for New Horizons, but it’s nothing compared to the plethora of free Stardew updates Barone has cranked out over the years, all without ever asking players for another dime. Barone could charge for these massive Stardew game updates, and I’d happily pay for them. But he doesn’t. He updates his $15 game for free, and I respect his commitment to improving it without nickel-and-diming the playerbase.
Am I dying to get my hands on Haunted Chocolatier and live out my spooky Willy Wonka fantasy? Absolutely. But I’ll happily wait another decade for the game to arrive if that means it will be as in-depth, polished, and satisfying to play as Stardew Valley is. Plus, with all the new Stardew content Barone has been releasing, I have more than enough game left to keep me occupied until Haunted Chocolatier is ready.
In a world full of disappointing cozyslop, Eric Barone is one of the only developers taking the time to flesh out every inch of a game that was already fantastic when it launched a decade ago. I’d much rather have another wonderful Stardew-like experience than play an unfinished mess that was rushed out the door early to appease eager players. As Barone has said, Haunted Chocolatier “will come out when it’s ready.”
But until then, for the love of god, please let the man cook.
