Many people regard Haunted Chocolatier as the sequel to Stardew Valley. Created by Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe, Haunted Chocolatier is a cozy game that involves creating chocolates for their confectionery store, while befriending the locals and ghosts that live in the town. Haunted Chocolatier will have RPG and combat mechanics in addition to the other cozy mechanics that are staples of Stardew Valley. Players will need to venture into the world to gather ingredients for their chocolates, implying a variety of creative combinations.
Haunted Chocolatier was announced in 2021, and will likely be in development for some time. ConcernedApe recently stated in an interview that he hopes that Haunted Chocolatier will be released sometime before 2030. Despite the long wait, Haunted Chocolatier will be built on the successes of Stardew Valley, learning from its mistakes and improving on features that worked. Stardew Valley was a massive success, and Haunted Chocolatier will be developed with very different financial support, giving ConcernedApe the freedom to create the game that he envisions.
Haunted Chocolatier Festival Wish List
Stardew Valley has some excellent festivals, so Haunted Chocolatier has a high bar to clear. These are some of the celebrations that should appear.
Haunted Chocolatier's Long Development Time May Benefit It in the End
Haunted Chocolatier is a separate project from Stardew Valley, although it is rumored that there will be story or setting connections between them. Stardew Valley was released in 2016, and ConcernedApe has been working on it even after its release, with periodic updates that add more content, bug fixes, and changes that make modding easier. With all the work happening on Stardew Valley, Haunted Chocolatier was put on hold for a good part of 2024. Haunted Chocolatier has already been in development for some time, and is likely not to get a release for several years at least.
While it's frustrating to wait so long for a game, the Stardew Valley and cozy game community are generally aware of the difficulties of developing a game solo, and are mostly supportive of ConcernedApe's timeline. The success of Stardew Valley, ConcernedApe's frequent updates on Haunted Chocolatier's development, and the ease of modding Stardew Valley have all made ConcernedApe a video game developer that elicits trust from the community. Stardew Valley's success has made ConcernedApe a trusted figure in the industry, and adding his name to a project in turn gives that project legitimacy.
Lessons Learned From Stardew Valley
There are also some advantages to ConcernedApe's current focus on Stardew Valley. As it will be his second project, Haunted Chocolatier will likely include many of the elements that were missing from Stardew Valley at launch. Haunted Chocolatier will ultimately benefit from ConcernedApe's experiences on Stardew Valley, as much of the code that was built from scratch in Stardew Valley will likely be used for Haunted Chocolatier. This will give ConcernedApe more time to focus on refining existing mechanics to be better than ever, and to create new ones that improve quality of life or exciting new mechanics for a more satisfying gameplay loop.
Stardew Valley's Financial Success Will Benefit Haunted Chocolatier
Stardew Valley sold over 20 million copies and is still considered a major indie title even nearly a decade after its release. Haunted Chocolatier will also have the financial backing that Stardew Valley didn't have during its development time. This financial success means that ConcernedApe doesn’t need external funding and has no need to adhere to the demands of external investors.
With Stardew Valley's success, ConcernedApe likely has more money to put into Haunted Chocolatier. ConcernedApe has also earned his reputation for being a talented and dedicated video game developer with Stardew Valley's success. While he's stated that he's not interested in bringing on any other developers, it still remains an option if it ever becomes necessary thanks to the extraordinary sales of Stardew Valley, and that he created it all on his own.
- Developer(s)
- ConcernedApe
- Publisher(s)
- ConcernedApe
- Engine
- MonoGame
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Simulation
