Stardew Valley is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Fans of the farm life simulator, specifically those who already own it for the Nintendo Switch 2, can download a free upgrade that introduces new features and multiplayer modes. However, fans have reported some bugs following the free release, and Eric Barone, the game’s developer that’s better known as ConcernedApe, is working on fixes.
If you have StardewValley on the Switch 2, you can download the Upgrade Pack that introduces mouse controls to make it easier to place furniture and organize your inventory. The upgrade also adds local split-screen co-op for up to four players and online multiplayer that maxes out at eight players. On top of the co-op modes, the free content pack includes Game Share compatibility, meaning only one player needs a copy of Stardew Valley to share it with three others.
This Upgrade Pack may not have as much content as a numbered update, but some players are already reporting bugs. According to user accounts, the online multiplayer mode isn’t working, while other reports noted that some crafting recipes had inaccurate material requirements or quantities. In a post on X, Barone said that he’s taking “full responsibility for this mistake” and that the development team “will fix this as soon as possible.” On top of addressing the bugs from the latest Upgrade Pack, Barone and the rest of the development team are also working on the upcoming 1.7 update for Stardew Valley, while Haunted Chocolatier is still under development.
We may not have a date for Stardew Valley‘s next major update, but we have confirmation that it’s happening. Eric Barone, the developer behind the hit farming sim, announced that there will be a 1.7 update during the Stardew Valley Symphony of Seasons concert in Seattle, later confirming the news with a post on X. Barone, better known as ConcernedApe, didn’t reveal a release date, nor any teasers about content.
Considering the numbered update, we’re expecting more than just a patch and something similar to the fresh content added in the 1.6 update. The previous update released in March of last year and delivered a ton of free content, including the Meadowlands Farm, a new three-day festival, more crops and novel NPC interactions.
Fans will always welcome more content for Stardew Valley, but some expressed concern about how this will impact the release timeline for Barone’s upcoming title, Haunted Chocolatier. The developer revealed the standalone title in 2021 and told PC Gamer in April of this year that he wouldn’t work on any more Stardew Valley updates until he’s done with Haunted Chocolatier. To offer some reassurance, Barone replied on X that the 1.7 update “will not hinder Haunted Chocolatier development.”
This week, one of the biggest stories in gaming involved updates to an eight-year-old game. Yes, Stardew Valley developer ConcernedApe trickled out a series of details about the game’s latest patch that had fans hanging on every word in anticipation. We’ve got all the facts for you about this game-changing update, as well as a report on Overwatch 2‘s once-vaunted story missions, a story on the motivations behind an Apex Legends hack, and more.
It is the eve before Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update drops and developer ConcernedApe has delivered us one last sneak peek by way of patch notes. In case you’ve missed the last week of chaos, Stardew Valley’s developer has been releasing spoiler-free teases of what’s to come in the forthcoming update and the community has been absolutely eating it up. The changes have ranged from the obscure to the subject of countless fan theories, and span the gamut of bugs and glitches, to long overdue corrections and fixing game mechanics. Over the weekend, they even teased that players will now be able to chug mayonnaise just for the hell of it. All hell’s broken loose in Pelican Town apparently.
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ConcernedApe’s final tease is now out ahead of the patch’s drop tomorrow, and it’s perhaps the most substantial new addition announced yet.
Stardew’s 1.6 update will, among too many additions and fixes to count, introduce a new farm type to the game: the meadowlands farm. The new farmland will, according to ConcernedApe, consist of “chewy blue grass that animals love” making it ripe for grazing right off the bat. Stardew has seven other farm types as of update 1.5, and each lends itself to a particular playstyle, be it combat, harvesting, fishing, or just enjoying multiplayer lobbies with some of your friends.
The patch note seems to indicate the latest farm type will be especially good for players who prioritize farming in Stardew Valley. Farm types have benefits beyond just layouts, and the new meadowlands farm is no different. Players who opt to start a new meadowlands farm will begin their game with a coop and two chickens, saving them the time and money that procuring all three often costs. It’s perhaps safe to say that the new farm type is a bit more beginner-friendly, as it will cut out some of the more tedious tasks from the early game.
This last patch note follows in the footsteps of those behind it, painting the picture of an update meant to transition Stardew into a new phase of its life. The game, which has been supported more than I think anyone could have reasonably imagined when it first came out in 2016TK YEAR, has had a tremendous lifetime filled with new content and changes, and 1.6 appears like a tidy way to tie a bow on things. Most of the changes that have been announced are granular, but the kind of stuff that diehard Stardew aficionados have been clamoring for. Just look at the replies to each one of ConcernedApe’s announcements and you’ll see hundreds, if not thousands, of people losing it over changes that hardly feel impactful from the outside looking in. They’re the kind of crowd-pleasing fixes I can imagine addressing in order to make the community happy one last time for the foreseeable future.
Coming years after the last significant content arrived in Stardew—and sandwiched between it and ConcernedApe’s next game, Haunted Chocolatier—the 1.6 update was supposed to have been a more straightforward update for modders before it transformed into a tiny expansion. In the time since its initial announcement, ConcernedApe has spent more time talking about the fresh content made for 1.6, such as an entirely new festival and accompanying dialogue, than discussing its original intent. Even the teases over the last week have had nothing to do with mods. Instead, they’ve felt like a fun repartee between the developer and the huge community his game has accrued over the years, as well as an assurance that he’s coming through on some long standing promises before moving on to the next big thing for a good while.
To be clear, I don’t believe Stardew is going anywhere, and the console and mobile versions still need the 1.6 update to be ported over in the near future, but this update feels like the last big one fans are going to get for a while as ConcernedApe refocuses on getting Haunted Chocolatierout the door. If these zany patches are anything to go by, it’s definitely going out with a bang.
The lowkey farming simulator Stardew Valley is getting some new stuff in a couple of weeks. Developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone announced on X/Twitter on February 26 that the PC version of the chill game will get the 1.6 update on March 19, with the patch coming to to consoles and mobile “as soon as possible.”
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In follow-up posts, ConcernedApe celebrated the game selling over 30 million copies and thanked everyone for their support. He also said a worldwide concert tour and an official cookbook are in the works, which sounds cool, but the meat and potatoes here is its 1.6 patch, and Stardew Valley fans are gonna be eating real good.
What’s In Stardew Valley’s 1.6 Update?
We don’t know exactly what the patch will entail. However, ConcernedApe has teased various details about what to expect when the update drops on March 19. In April 2023, he said 1.6 will mostly benefit modders and also includes new game content. Three months later, in July, he expanded on that “new game content” a bit, tweeting that 1.6 will feature a new festival, dialogue, items, and “secrets”—whatever that means. As unspecific as this all is, it sounds enticing.
But wait, there’s more (but not much). In responding to a Twitter user on February 23, who said the mobile version of the game is pretty buggy (night doesn’t transition to day, for example), ConcernedApe said that he’ll address those issues on mobile as part of update 1.6. A similar problem affected some Stardew ValleyPC players back in 2019, but regular updates seem to have resolved the issue. Hopefully, the PC and console ports of version 1.6 will stamp out any lingering hiccups.
