The mysterious next game from Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone has had a few details revealed at last. It won’t be Stardew Valley 2 or a farming game, but will be “kind of similar” and should be announced “fairly soon”. However, don’t expect to see another Stardew Valley update anytime soon as he’s focused on this next game.
Yesterday Barone and Zach “UnsurpassableZ” Hartman hosted the first official Stardew Valley Cup, all four hours of which can be seen on Twitch. At the end of the stream, Barone answered a number of questions from fans, and obviously, the topic of his new game came up. Barone doesn’t go into too much detail, but it does give a clearer picture than fans have had since the game was announced in 2018.
In terms of look, Barone confirms that “it’s another kind of pixel-art game” with “a top-down perspective similar to Stardew Valley”. He also admits that “in some ways, it is kind of similar to Stardew Valley,” but adds that, gameplay-wise, “it’s also not a farming game… it’s something different.”
Barone also adds that he “may announce it fairly soon”, so fans should keep a close eye out for that in the coming weeks. However, one rumour the developer wanted to dispel was that he had some connection with the Harry Potter-meets-Stardew Valley game Witchbrook. which isn’t true apparently. “I have nothing to do with that game,” he says, and confirms that his own game is “not a magic school game”.
However, Barone also re-confirms that he’s not currently working on Stardew Valley update 1.6 or a full Stardew Valley 2, which he first admitted in September last year. “I don’t even know at this point,” he says when prompted about a new update after December’s 1.5. “Right now I am focused on my next game, so we’ll see.”