Stardew Valley fans think a little raccoon is hinting at something for Update 1.6

destructoid.com:

With the long awaited 1.6 update to Stardew Valley finally coming on March 19, fans have taken the opportunity to speculate about what’s to come, including what a little raccoon on the official image could mean. 

Way back in December 2020, update 1.5 brought players a long list of additions, including a new location in Ginger Island. As such, players are currently getting excited at the thought that Update 1.6 could add another new location, Prairie Island.

It’s worth noting before we go any further that this has not been confirmed by ConcernedApe and, at the moment, is just a fan theory.

One Reddit post by u/Russ_Guss_Doodles highlights exactly why fans are speculating that Update 1.6 could see Stardew Valley players head to Prairie Island.

Prairie Island is known to have an abundant population of raccoons, as shown in the “Natural Wonders: Exploring Our Vibrant World” film at the in-game Movie Theatre. Ginger Island was teased within the same movie and, again, was added in Update 1.5.

Back in April 2023, ConcernedApe told fans that they were taking a break to work on 1.6, but that the update wouldn’t be as comprehensive as 1.5. However, the developer has also admitted that they’ve worked much harder than they originally anticipated on the upcoming patch, so it’s understandable that players are excited for what’s to come. 

There is going to be a Stardew 1.6 update. It's mostly changes for modders (which will make it easier & more powerful to mod). But there is also new game content, albeit much less than 1.5. I'm taking a break from Haunted Chocolatier to work on this at the moment. Then back to HC

Within the comments on the above tweet, one user asked ConcernedApe about the possibility of a new island and while the developer didn’t outright answer the question, he did say that 1.6 would be more about “adding more to the old stuff”.

For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what that raccoon really means.