Stardew Valley Dev Delivers Official Update On Semi-Sequel Haunted Chocolatier

Published Oct 8, 2026, 1:00 AM EDT

Ben Brosofsky has been writing for Screen Rant since 2022 and editing since 2024. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor's in Cinema & Media Arts. Writing serves as a much-needed distraction from tackling a backlog of Steam games that will never be surmounted.

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Stardew Valley's solo developer Eric Barone, better known as ConcernedApe, is a busy man. In addition to continued development on the Stardew Valley, which has spent a full decade receiving a long succession of major updates, he's also hard at work on his next game, Haunted Chocolatier. Stardew Valley's successor bears some obvious resemblances to the hit farming simulator, but it also comes with plenty of new ideas and a slightly darker atmosphere.

With so much on his plate, though, some fans have started to fear that it could be a very long time before Haunted Chocolatier even gets close to completion. For anyone wondering how progress on the game is going, ConcernedApe offered an update on Haunted Chocolatier's development in August that you might have missed.

On the official Haunted Chocolatier website, ConcernedApe added a post titled "checking in" that briefly addresses the current progress on the title. While he doesn't include any specifics or suggest an overall timeline, he notes that he's "been very productive on this project lately" despite his other obligations, calling work on Haunted Chocolatier the thing he's "most eager and driven to do."

That doesn't mean it will necessarily be coming any time soon, as ConcernedApe "won't compromise on the quality of the game by rushing it or releasing it too early." He notes his appreciation for the patience of fans, though, sharing that the vast majority have been supportive of the time he's taking and thanking everyone for their willingness to "keep the faith" in the project.

Credits: Eric Barone/ConcernedApe

The comments on ConcernedApe's post fall in line with the community support that he was talking about, with many thanking him for his work and encouraging him to take all the time he needs with Haunted Chocolatier. Stardew Valley's community would never have grown as large as it is if the game wasn't compelling to its fans, and they seem perfectly willing to place trust in ConcernedApe to deliver another memorable experience in the future.

In the meantime, the upcoming Stardew Valley 1.7 update should go a long way in tiding fans over while they wait for Haunted Chocolatier. Like the next game, the 1.7 update doesn't have a specific release date in place, but it's comparatively limited scope means it shouldn't take anywhere near as long to cross the finish line. If it happens to launch before the end of the year, it will come in time for the game's tenth anniversary, but there's no guarantee of that happening.

Hopefully, both Stardew Valley's 1.7 update and Haunted Chocolatier will be worth the wait. If ConcernedApe's track record is anything to go by, there's little reason to doubt they will.