Summary
Stardew Valleyhas been gettingquite a bit of attention from creator ConcernedAperecently, despite his insistence a while back that he was moving on.He has had trouble leaving the game behind after all these years though, which means his next project,Haunted Chocolatier, has fallen by the wayside a little bit as his attention is elsewhere.
It’s actually been quite a while since we’ve had any kind of update on development too, though thankfully, it looks as though Concerned Ape hasn’t totally forgotten about the title. Earlier today,a new post was published on the Haunted Chocolatier websitefor the first time since Aug 02, 2025, giving fans a much-needed development update on Haunted Chocolatier, along with some new screenshots to gaze longingly at.
Haunted Chocolatier Creator Concerned Ape Shares Development Update And Screenshots
In this update, ConcernedApe begins by explaining why he was pulled away from Haunted Chocolatier, explaining that the update that was intended to be technical “snowballed” into something much larger he had to concentrate on. In the end, Haunted Chocolatier was left for a little while, but he does reassure us that “a ton of work on the game” had been done before he shifted his attention to Stardew Valley’s latest update.
“My next task will be to tweak the existing bones until I’m happy with them, add all the rest of the bones, and then flesh it all out with all the content that will need to be in the game,” says ConcernedApe. “Yes, it’s going to be a lot of work still, but it’s okay, I’m addicted to the grind.”
ConcernedApe then addresses people that may be “disappointed” that he took time out of development to revisit Stardew Valley, and says that he “understands” the complaints and will be “very happy” when the day finally comes when he can release the title fully.
As for when that will be, ConcernedApe only really explains that Haunted Chocolatier won’t be released in early access, and will only launch once it’s in a completely finished state. That’s kind of a surprise given massive studios like Larian are opting to go the early access route, but ConcernedApe explains that he doesn’t want to be pressured by arbitrary deadlines.
He finishes off the update by reassuring fans that even if he doesn’t provide another update for a while, it doesn’t mean he’s abandoned the game entirely - he just likes “to disappear and work in isolation”. Don’t we all?
Haunted Chocolatier
Haunted Chocolatier is a game in development by Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone. Similar to its illustrious predecessor, you’ll have to build up and run a chocolate shop. Barone has said gameplay will be more combat-oriented.
