It’s been sometime since Haunted Chocolatier, the next game from Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, received an update, but that doesn’t mean the project and its progress have stalled.
That’s according to a new update from Barone himself, who provided a short post on the game’s website to address some speculation around his focus on the game, its current progress, and rumors of a 2030 release date. In the post, Barone explains that he’s been very productive on Haunted Chocolatier lately, and that the game is taking longer to bring together than expected. He concedes that it was likely announced too early, with the first trailer debuting in 2021, but that he had reasons for making that call, too.
Taking aim at a handful of recent rumors, Barone shut down the insinuation Haunted Chocolatier would be canceled and have its content added to Stardew Valley, or that mechanics for the new game were being tested in Stardew Valley updates. “Also, Stardew Valley is a different game, so you can’t really “test something” for Haunted Chocolatier in it in an accurate way,” he added.
Barone also addressed concerns that continued work on Stardew Valley was a result of him being burnt out on work for Haunted Chocolatier, saying “No, I’m working on a new Stardew update because it’s a very popular game with a large, ever-growing playerbase, and I still have additional ideas for how to improve it.”
Barone concluded the post by saying that the only important news is that development on Haunted Chocolatier is progressing and that it will eventually release. Whether that’s before 2030 or not doesn’t seem to concern the Stardew Valley developer, who states “the game will come out when it’s done”