With Stardew Valley set to celebrate its 10th Anniversary on February 26, 2026, many fans have grown curious about the status of developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone's next project, Haunted Chocolatier. That game was first announced almost five years ago, at the time of writing, and yet very little has been revealed about Haunted Chocolatier in the years since. Luckily, ConcernedApe has finally issued the latest update on Haunted Chocolatier, which may still leave some fans wanting more but does offer deeper insights into the inner workings behind the game and its current ongoing development.
When Stardew Valley first launched in 2016, it was hailed as a standout debut for a solo indie developer and quickly earned its place among the best life-sim games of all time. As the game has received multiple major updates over the years, including the addition of Ginger Island in 2020 and the more recent Update 1.6 that massively expanded dialogue interactions and even added more end-game content, Stardew Valley has earned its title as a juggernaut of the life-sim genre. ConcernedApe has already confirmed that Update 1.7 for Stardew Valley is already in development, leaving many to wonder if Haunted Chocolatier has fallen by the wayside. New comments from ConcernedApe have shed more light on the matter, though fans will want to remain patient and avoid getting overly excited.
Stardew Valley's 1.7 Update Hopefully Won't Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill
If the next update for Stardew Valley isn't as big fans hope it is, then hopefully ConcernedApe sets expectations for it accordingly before launch.
What is the Development Status of Haunted Chocolatier?
Speaking in an interview with IGN, ConcernedApe revealed that he has been shifting around development responsibilities with an expanded team in order to allow himself more time to focus on Haunted Chocolatier while simultaneously remaining closely involved with Stardew Valley's next update. ConcernedApe identifies his new role as that of a "creative director" for Stardew Valley, letting his team of developers focus on the nitty-gritty work. This new behind-the-scenes structure has allowed him to spend more time with the development of Haunted Chocolatier, which has "worked out pretty well so far" but does still have its drawbacks. He acknowledged that Update 1.7 for Stardew will eventually require him to "get heavily involved again," and he has been struggling with bouncing back-and-forth between the two games. ConcernedApe revealed it has been hard for him to "shift gears" between both projects, with his mind often "all in one thing or the other."
Despite some fans being disappointed with the lack of major update announcements for Haunted Chocolatier, ConcernedApe remains adamant that the project is "coming along" and reminded audiences that he will not release the game unless he is completely happy with it. The support of the Stardew Valley community has shown that many are patiently waiting and granting ConcernedApe and his team as much time as is necessary for another memorable life-sim game to reach its full potential for launch, and the developer is keeping this lack of "pressure" in mind in order to focus on overcoming his own challenges with balancing two games. As such, fans will seemingly need to hold off on expecting any major updates on Haunted Chocolatier any time soon, but whatever does eventually get announced will likely reflect ConcernedApe's own high expectations and hard work.
It is worth mentioning that ConcernedApe has previously stated that he expects the release date for Haunted Chocolatier to be somewhere around 2030, so audiences already have a rough timeline of just how long it may be before any major progress is made on the game's development. There has not been a solid launch window announced for Stardew Valley Update 1.7, but if ConcernedApe is able to navigate the shifting team structure for Stardew, he may be able to make more measurable headway on Haunted Chocolatier. Interested fans can stay tuned for any official news on the release of Update 1.7 for Stardew Valley, as well as any future announcements about the status of Haunted Chocolatier.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- February 26, 2016
- ESRB
- E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
- Developer(s)
- ConcernedApe
- Publisher(s)
- ConcernedApe
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Simulation
