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Haunted Chocolatier release date estimate, trailers, and latest news

The Haunted Chocolatier release date may be on the horizon, and we’ve got gameplay, banger soundtracks, and latest news to share with you.

Haunted Chocolatier release date: The front of the chocolate shop

When is the Haunted Chocolatier release date? The upcoming 2D role-playing adventure is being developed by Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe, who also created Stardew Valley. That means that we should expect some lovely pixel art, a picturesque town, and an awesome soundtrack – but with less farming and more chocolate, of course.

If Haunted Chocolatier reaches the heights of Stardew Valley, we’ll have one of the best indie games of all time on our hands, and possibly one of the best PC games overall. From the first gameplay trailer and boss teaser to the latest news, here’s everything we know about the Haunted Chocolatier release date so far.

Haunted Chocolatier release date: The player character looking at a chocolate bar item

Haunted Chocolatier release date estimate

We expect that the Haunted Chocolatier release date will fall sometime in 2025. However, this is based on a rough time scale suggested by developer Concerned Ape, and it won’t arrive until after the Stardew Valley 1.6 update.

Given that Barone said in a tweet in 2023 that he was taking a break from Haunted Chocolatier to work on the Stardew Valley 1.6 update, we know progress hasn’t been made in a while. That said, the Stardew 1.6 is out now, released on March 19, 2024, so work on Haunted Chocolatier will presumably resume.

Our release date estimate is based on Barone’s comments in an interview with Screen Rant in December 2022, in which he confirmed that Haunted Chocolatier was “gonna be a while”. He then referred to the development time of Stardew Valley, which took four and a half years to get out. Given that Barone started work on Haunted Chocolatier between late 2020 and early 2021, this would take us to mid-2025 at best, without delays and with a similar development time to Stardew.

After “dedicating ten years of my life to Stardew Valley (and counting)”, Barone announced that he had begun working on his next game, Haunted Chocolatier, in October 2021. It’s worth remembering that Haunted Chocolatier, like SV, is a solo project, and quite an ambitious one.

Some screenshots of the game are available on the official website, and keen-eyed fans have spotted a potential release date clue, putting the game much further ahead than 2o25.

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Haunted Chocolatier trailer

Eric Barone released the first (and for now only) Haunted Chocolatier gameplay trailer in October 2021. It introduces us to a gorgeous pixel world that consists of vast forests, mountains, a large town, and… Is that a haunted-castle-turned-chocolate-shop?

It looks like our little 2D chocolatier indeed gets to live in a massive castle, where they’ll be brewing their chocolatey goodness in witch-like cauldrons. To find the proper ingredients, the chocolatier will have to venture out into the wilds, to gather berries and slaying slimes. So far, we’ve spotted nectar, milk, and huckleberries.

A quick glimpse of the build menu suggests that the chocolate shop can be fully customized, using different flooring, furniture, and decorations. You’ll be able to put your chocolatey creations on display, too. This is also where the ‘haunted’ part comes in, as all of the shop’s employees seem to be ghosts. Doesn’t put off the townspeople though, by the looks of it.

Haunted Chocolatier release date: The player wandering down a sandy path

Haunted Chocolatier gameplay

In his game announcement blog post, Eric Barone says that he’s not sure why he came up with a chocolate theme specifically, adding that “a lot of people like chocolate”. In contrast with Stardew Valley, which has a more humble, back-to-nature focus, Haunted Chocolatier throws magic and spookiness into the mix. Despite the darker theme, Barone says that the game should still offer an uplifting experience.

In short, Haunted Chocolatier’s gameplay involves gathering ingredients, making chocolate, and running a chocolate shop. There’ll be a lot more to it than that, but most of the details remain a mystery for now. We do know that Haunted Chocolatier features plenty of shops and even more NPCs, such as blacksmith Burk and astrologer/science-guy Dr. Tungsten.

A beautiful water fountain in the centre of town at night, lit by streetlamps, in Haunted Chocolatier.

Haunted Chocolatier news

While there’s still no real news on the development progress or release date of Haunted Chocolatier, Barone treated us to four new Haunted Chocolatier screenshots in October 2023 in celebration of reaching a million followers on Twitter/X. In these stills of the management game, we see an adorable library, a stunning water fountain at night as streetlamps light the town, and what is presumably the inside of your house and shop.

A Haunted Chocolatier character in the middle of a green field, holding a bow and arrow.

Perhaps the most generous image of the four though is a picture showing the player character out in the wild again, this time surrounded by creatures and wielding a bow and arrow. This is the first time we’ve seen the Haunted Chocolatier protagonist with a weapon, and they use it to shoot an adorable green critter – perhaps one can they be used in your chocolate creation.

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A Haunted Chocolatier screenshot from August 2022 shows a monstrously large bee inside a giant honeycomb. We can draw two careful conclusions from this: Haunted Chocolatier will throw us some pretty intimidating enemies, and we’ll be mixing our cocoa with honey. Even better; this beehive-dungeon boss comes with its own soundtrack, and it’s an absolute banger.

In early 2022, Barone confirmed that Haunted Chocolatier players can build relationships with in-game characters, similar to Stardew Valley. However, he also revealed that he’ll “approach some things differently this time around”. What that means exactly, who knows.

Dropping a short combat clip in late October 2021, Barone disclosed that Haunted Chocolatier has a greater focus on combat compared to Stardew Valley. The combat system is created “from scratch’, and should offer room for different play styles. That includes a defensive approach, thereby using a shield to block and stun opponents. In addition to the shield, there will be a variety of off-hand items.

Haunted Chocolatier release date: The player having a conversation with Jett

Will there be Haunted Chocolatier multiplayer?

This is an important question for many Stardew-fans who enjoyed farming together with a pal. However, according to the “frequently asked questions” section on the game’s website, Haunted Chocolatier will feature solo play only. Even though Barone doesn’t have plans to change this in the future, do keep in mind that Stardew was initially a solo-only game as well. You never know.

Now you know all the details about the Haunted Chocolatier release date, take a look at all the latest information surrounding the Hollow Knight Silksong release date, another hotly anticipated indie game, or try one of the other life sims from our pick of the best.