Stardew Valley Creator Doesn't Want To Stop Updating The Game

Summary

To callStardew Valleyanything but a rousing success would be an understatement. Since its debut in 2016,the game has been going strong, regularly receiving content updates and new featuresto go along with a healthy modding community that doesn’t stop. What’s more,in 2024, the game sold a reported 10 million copies. That number bumped up its lifetime sales to just over 40 million, just putting it outside the Top 10 of the best-selling games of all-time.

Born from a single developer, Eric “ConcerncedApe” Barone,who doesn’t seem to stop working on his passion project, even on Christmas Day, the game is an all-time success story. But even as the game has reached eight years since its launch, don’t expect ConcernedApe to give up working on Stardew.

ConcernedApe Will Always Have A Connection To Stardew

In an interview with NPR, Barone discussed whether there would be a point when he wouldn’t be working on Stardew. The short answer: only if there is too much content.

“I think a game can have too much content,” he shared. “And I ultimately want Stardew Valley to be the best game it can be. So, if I feel like it’s starting to become kind of overwhelmed with content to the point where it’s detrimental to the game’s entertainment factor, I would stop at that point.”

That said, Barone said that he doesn’t want to ever say that he’ll stop working on the game, because that desire will almost always linger. “But I don’t want to definitively say that the book is ever closed, because I think I will always have a desire to come back and maybe add a thing or two,” he added. “You know, maybe even 50 years from now, I might add something.”

This wouldn’t be the first time Barone has discussed his relationship with the game. In the past,Barone has said that he could work on Stardew “forever.“Before that,he also revealed that “closing the book” on Stardew and moving on is a struggle, as he feels “personally responsible” for the game and the experience players have.

And if you thought he was joking about the update 50 years from now, think again. “I like creating things. I don’t think I’m ever going to retire,” he added. “I think it would be funny to release an update when I’m, like, 90 years old — if I live that long. Let’s hope.” Come to think of it, a Stardew Valley update in 2075 doesn’t sound too bad after all.