Stardew Valley creator gives an update on Haunted Chocolatier’s release

Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone is the first person to admit he maybe shouldn’t have announced his next game as early as he did. While Haunted Chocolatier was revealed in 2021, with development starting a year prior, the game is still in development five years later with no sign of a release anytime soon. Barone understands the frustration the endless anticipation brings, but said there is a reason behind the long development process.

“I know it’s taking a long time,” Barone said in a new blog post, “Feels kinda dumb posting this same thing over and over, but that’s the reality.” Barone is referring to the previous update on the game from this January that similarly had the refrain of lamenting how long it has been in the works. In that same blog, Barone mused that perhaps he should not have announced the game as early as he did.

As for why development has continued for over five years, Barone said it comes from constantly iterating on the game’s numerous systems.

“The things in the game which the player will be interacting with or using very often need to be ‘perfect,'” he said. “They need to be seamless, clear, intuitive, satisfying, aesthetic.”

Haunted Chocolatier, like Stardew Valley, is a cozy life-sim game that will involve running a business and building relationships with townspeople. Barone does describe his new project as being, “more of an action-RPG compared to Stardew Valley.” So combat may have a greater focus. There is also the central focus of running a chocolate shop rather than a farm. Aesthetically, both games share the same pixelated, top-down art style.

One key point of interaction has been the recipe book for making chocolates, shares Barone.

“This is a UI you will be using fairly often, so it has to be perfect,” said the developer. That means tweaking details such as how many clicks it takes to use the interface and what type of information is displayed. Barone said the bare minimum is for the UI to look appealing and also be functionally intuitive.

“If all of that is accomplished, then the player is now comfortable while perusing the recipe book,” Barone wrote, “But I want more than just comfort. I want to delight the player.”

While continuing to tweak and perfect Haunted Chocolatier, Barone has never fully stopped development on Stardew Valley. Earlier this year, just before the farming sim passed its 10th anniversary, the developer gave insight on the massive upcoming 1.7 update. While, like Haunted Chocolatier, the update has no release date, it will add two more marriage candidates. Barone also noted that he has considered a “Stardew Classic” as well as a true sequel. In regard to both Haunted Chocolatier and Stardew Valley‘s further updates, it seems fans will have to wait.

Barone signs off his latest blog post by saying, “As always, I really appreciate your patience.”