Stardew Valley creator says 1.6 update content "done", definitely out this year

eurogamer.net:

Stardew Valley creator Eric «ConcernedApe» Barone has shared an update on the farm-life sim's highly anticipated — and long-in-the-works — 1.6 update, saying he's now «done adding major new content» and that it'll «definitely» be out this year.

Barone revealed he was working on a 1.6 update for Stardew Valley back in June 2022, warning it would be relatively modest in scope and 'mostly modding-focused'.

With each new showing, however, 1.6 has seemingly grown more ambitious; by September last year, Barone confirmed it would include one major new festival and two new mini festivals, new items and crafting recipes, new dialogue lines, a new farm type, new late-game content, winter outfits for villagers, a new larger chest, 8-player co-op on PC, and more — that «and more» encompassing perhaps 1.6's most important addition: hats for cats and dogs.

In December, Barone revealed he'd make a «ton of progress» and was in "(self-imposed) extreme crunch mode" to wrap up work on 1.6. And now, in a new update on social media, he's confirmed he's officially «done adding major new content» and that's his focus will be on «bug-fixing and polishing» until its ready for release. «Thx for your patience,» he added. «It'll be fun to see everyone play it!».

By Barone's own admission, 1.6 has «ended up being a little larger in scope than originally planned», but the finish line is now in sight. Responding to fan query asking if the update will arrive this year, he wrote, «Yes absolutely».

Stardew Valley's previous major content update, version 1.5, arrived all the way back in February 2021. After that, it appeared Barone was ready to move on; in October that same year he announced his next project, Haunted Chocolatier — a sort of darker, more fantastical twist on the Stardew Valley formula, featuring «magical haunted ghost chocolate» among