The Indie Informer

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Owing to ConcernedApe’s celebrated reputation as Stardew Valley’s creator, any hint of news about his upcoming project, Haunted Chocoltier, produces shockwaves. The anticipated title is close to my heart, not only as a fan but also as someone who covers games — the developer was gracious enough to speak candidly with me about transitioning to making a new game back in 2022. The date is a part of fans’ hungry response to updates, as four years later, ConcernedApe remains fairly quiet about his progress.

However, the first news of the new year dropped unceremoniously on the creator’s blog, and, essentially, it reassures fans that the creator is still alive and everything is as on track as ever.

“Hey everyone, good news,” he begins, “I’ve been very productive lately on Haunted Chocolatier.” He acknowledges revealing the game’s existence so early in development has resulted in some drawbacks. And more interestingly, alludes to “reasons” for doing so — reasons I would be overjoyed to discuss at some point.

The bulk of the communication tackles the kinds of rumors that typically crop up when eager players don’t have concrete information on a game. You can read the entire slate of explanations here; however, I’ll boil them down as: Stardew Valley’s ongoing updates have no connection with Haunted Chocolatier, and there’s no release date incoming, though the developer hopes it will be sooner rather than later.

“Anyway, the only thing that really matters is that I keep making progress on the game and release it. So I’m gonna get back to doing that now.”

I feel ConcernedApe here. We are excited for a special game; there’s no shame in that. Like always, I hope the creator takes the time he needs to make it exactly what he wants, and the pressure rests lightly on his mind. Until our next glimpse, enjoy some of the new images we got of Haunted Chocolatier’s world.