ConcernedApe developer Eric Barone is continuing work on his next major project, Haunted Chocolatier, and has confirmed in a recent Game Informer interview that the new title will exceed Stardew Valley in overall scale.
Barone—who developed Stardew Valley as a solo creator and launched it for PC on February 26, 2016 before later bringing it to platforms including the Nintendo Switch via the eShop—said he is currently splitting his time between the two projects, dedicating five days a week to Haunted Chocolatier and two days to the forthcoming Stardew Valley 1.7 update.
In discussion with Game Informer (coverage of the interview was summarized by Kotaku), Barone described Haunted Chocolatier as a clear step up in raw content compared with Stardew Valley.
He explained that Haunted Chocolatier will feature a larger number of maps, a greater variety of monsters, and a deeper item and equipment system with expanded slots and mechanics.
In journalistic terms, Barone conveyed that “every aspect of the new game has been scaled up”—from environment count and enemy design to the complexity of items and equipment.
Barone also addressed development structure and the relationship between the two games.
He made it plain that Haunted Chocolatier is being built from the ground up on a different codebase, which means the project cannot simply be folded into Stardew Valley.
Paraphrasing his remarks, Barone stated he has no intention of abandoning Haunted Chocolatier and reiterated that integrating Haunted Chocolatier content into Stardew Valley is not technically feasible because the new game uses a separate engine and architecture.
While Haunted Chocolatier remains in active development with no announced release date, Stardew Valley continues to receive post-launch support.
The 1.7 update is slated to introduce new marriage candidates, improvements to how in-game children behave, and a new ability for players to edit their farm layouts rather than selecting from presets.
These updates reflect ongoing developer support for Stardew across platforms where it remains popular, including Nintendo Switch.
For industry observers and Nintendo platform holders, Barone’s comments underscore that Haunted Chocolatier is a long-term, ambitious project from a developer with a proven track record.
As details emerge, publishers and platform storefronts such as the Nintendo eShop will be key distribution channels to watch once a release window is announced.
Barone—who developed Stardew Valley as a solo creator and launched it for PC on February 26, 2016 before later bringing it to platforms including the Nintendo Switch via the eShop—said he is currently splitting his time between the two projects, dedicating five days a week to Haunted Chocolatier and two days to the forthcoming Stardew Valley 1.7 update.
In discussion with Game Informer (coverage of the interview was summarized by Kotaku), Barone described Haunted Chocolatier as a clear step up in raw content compared with Stardew Valley.
He explained that Haunted Chocolatier will feature a larger number of maps, a greater variety of monsters, and a deeper item and equipment system with expanded slots and mechanics.
In journalistic terms, Barone conveyed that “every aspect of the new game has been scaled up”—from environment count and enemy design to the complexity of items and equipment.
Barone also addressed development structure and the relationship between the two games.
He made it plain that Haunted Chocolatier is being built from the ground up on a different codebase, which means the project cannot simply be folded into Stardew Valley.
Paraphrasing his remarks, Barone stated he has no intention of abandoning Haunted Chocolatier and reiterated that integrating Haunted Chocolatier content into Stardew Valley is not technically feasible because the new game uses a separate engine and architecture.
While Haunted Chocolatier remains in active development with no announced release date, Stardew Valley continues to receive post-launch support.
The 1.7 update is slated to introduce new marriage candidates, improvements to how in-game children behave, and a new ability for players to edit their farm layouts rather than selecting from presets.
These updates reflect ongoing developer support for Stardew across platforms where it remains popular, including Nintendo Switch.
For industry observers and Nintendo platform holders, Barone’s comments underscore that Haunted Chocolatier is a long-term, ambitious project from a developer with a proven track record.
As details emerge, publishers and platform storefronts such as the Nintendo eShop will be key distribution channels to watch once a release window is announced.
