Tag:

Stardew

After selling 1.4m copies on Steam, Stardew Valley-inspired Dinkum hits Nintendo Switch this November

by admin September 13, 2025

You may not be aware of it, but the Australian-themed Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley-inspired title, Dinkum, was one of the breakout Steam games of 2022. The game sold over 350,000 within a month, and the title has gone from strength to strength since, racking up a total of over 1.4m sales since its 14th July early access launch in 2022.

What’s the story behind the game’s success? There was a late marketing push for the title just before it hit Steam – aided along by IGN’s Summer of Games show in the same year – and some YouTubers that focus on cozy life-sim games helped nudge the audience higher, too.

Manage cookie settings

Solo developer, James Bendon, is now keen to push his growing audience even further by releasing the game on Nintendo Switch (and playable on Switch 2). Whilst the initial development efforts on PC were all handled by Bendon, publisher Krafton has supported with the Switch ports, with members of the team at studio 5minlab coming in to help with porting the title to the handheld machine.

“As a massive Nintendo fan, having my own game on a Nintendo console has been a lifelong dream for me,” Bendon says in a press release. “I feel that Dinkum is a good fit for Nintendo Switch players, and it’s been the most requested console from players who have been waiting a long time to play Dinkum. I am certain that launching on the Switch will bring a lot of new players to Dinkum.”

Per a release from Bendon and Krafton, the Nintendo Switch version has been optimised for handheld play (with adjustments made to control schemes, and UI/UX), and all major content will be available across both platforms. There is a small exclusive in-game Battlegrounds costume players will be able to nab on Switch, but it’s just a cosmetic.

We’re used to seeing a lot of life sims and farming games during Nintendo Direct showcases, but with this one, it at least seems like there’s an in-built audience that’s been waiting for a while to see Dinkum escape the exclusive realms of the PC. And as we’re seeing ConcernedApe slow down development on Stardew Valley (well, in theory, at least), Bendon hints that Dinkum could live a lot longer.

“I think Dinkum is the kind of game that I could update forever, so I think as long as there are players who love Dinkum, I think they will inspire me to continue working on updates,” he says. “I am hopeful that offering Dinkum on the Nintendo Switch (and hopefully many other platforms in the future) will only bring more passionate players to Dinkum, and their passion for the game will continue to fuel my inspiration.”

Dinkum comes to Nintendo Switch, and will be playable on Switch 2, on 6th November.

Source link

September 13, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

ConcernedApe assures that Stardew Valley update 1.7 won’t delay Haunted Chocolatier much – it might even release first

by admin September 7, 2025

Fear not, fans of spirit candy! The recent announcement of Stardew Valley 1.7 update is not evidence that Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone’s next game Haunted Chocolatier has been banished to the realm of vapourware – or so sayeth Barone himself, at least. In a brief and caveat-strewn Q&A, the life sim creator has gone into more depth about development on Stardew, revealing that he’s not as heavily involved with it as with previous updates. As such, he’s still focussing “the vast majority” of his attention on Haunted Chocolatier.

It’s even possible that the latter will release before Stardew Valley’s next update, but let’s not count our Cocoa Loco Little Choc Chicks (£6.99 minus delivery costs) before they’ve hatched.

“Recently, I announced that there will be another major content update for Stardew Valley — the 1.7 update,” writes Barone on his blog. “You might be wondering: If ConcernedApe is working on Stardew Valley 1.7, will that cause Haunted Chocolatier to take longer? The answer: Maybe a little, but not as much as you might think.”

Barone goes onto explain that he’s been working with a small team on Stardew Valley additions and fixes since update 1.3 – he’s still “completely solo” on Haunted Chocolatier “for the time being”.

While he was “fully, personally locked-in on content development” for previous Stardew updates, Barone says that with update 1.7, “I have been trying to take more of a “creative director” role in the team, so that (at least for now) I can focus the vast majority of my attention on Haunted Chocolatier.”

“So far, it’s been pretty good… we are working at a relaxed pace, we have a ton of ideas, and everything has been high quality,” Barone continues. “Eventually, I will have to spend a little more time focused on Stardew Valley, because in order for me to maintain a full connection to the game, I need my hand to touch every piece of new content. And there are some aspects of content development which I insist on doing myself, like the music.

“But with our “no release date” approach to the 1.7 update, it’s not certain when that time will come. It might even be after Haunted Chocolatier comes out. (no guarantees though)”.

Barone adds that “the reality of my life is that I have a very popular 1st game that I still want to take care of, which means that my 2nd game might take a little longer”. Stardew Valley’s audience is “still growing”, he notes, and “it’s hard to just stop improving it when there are still things that can be improved. But I hope the approach I am taking for Stardew Valley 1.7 will help keep Haunted Chocolatier on track.”

Stardewman remains tight-lipped as to what update 1.7 might involve. We don’t know a whole caboodle about Haunted Chocolatier, either, other than that it’s more of an action-RPG than Stardew Valley, and sees you staffing a chocolate shop with ghosts.

Let me laboriously do some Audience Engagement and ask: what kind of chocolate would you be least surprised to discover is made by ghosts? I’ve always found hazelnut truffles a bit sinister. I find that they mysteriously make me fatter – clear indications of paranormal activity.

Source link

September 7, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Watch out, Hollow Knight: Silksong’s hiding a sneaky Stardew Valley creatorman cameo

by admin September 6, 2025

In case you missed it, a plucky little game no one had heard anything about whatsoever arrived yesterday. Hollow Knight: Silksong. Yeah, I know, it’s news to me too. Anyway, what’s also news is that Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone has a voice acting cameo in Skong. Though, he’s being all coy about revealing when and where you can hear his dulcet tones.

This came to light because of some valiant folks who’ve already made it to Silksong’s end credits, presumably having pulled mammoth sessions last night, as our own Ollie did to provide you lot with some helpful early game walkthroughs. Or, you know, they’ve gone to the extras bit of the main menu and pressed the button that rolls the credits.

Barone’s name is just chilling there in a section dedicated to additional characters voices, which also features Team Cherry marketing and publishing fellow Matthew Griffin. Naturally, the question is where do folks have to go to find Barone’s cameo?

According to The Verge, who reached out to ConcernedApe LLC’s head of operations Cole Medeiros, neither he nor Barone would just come out and say where the cameo is, despite confirming it is indeed that Eric Barone. Medeiros told the site that the Stardew and and also Haunted Chocolatier dev would “rather not say which character(s) so as not to spoil any surprises for anyone”.

I’ve not had a chance to join the RPS Skong hive currently reviewing/guiding/Edwining their way through Silksong yet, so I’m gonna take a big old stab in the dark as to which character Barone’s voiced.

It’s this one:

I can’t wait to meet this guy

[image or embed]

— Kelsey (@badkirbys.bsky.social) 4 September 2025 at 09:43

Manage cookie settings

I stress, that’s a total guess based on zero knowledge or information, just vibes. If it’s correct, everyone who reads this owes me a pound of human flesh to feed Horace. If it’s wrong, I’ll pretend it didn’t happen and probably go dark on the socials for a bit, as is the custom when you’ve callously said something wrong and are a bit embarrassed about it.

Outside of the Barone cameo coming to light, Silksong’s arrival also briefly murdered Steam. The storefront has since been revived by a crack team of medics exhibiting the sort of CPR enthusiasm reserved for those who know their ability to play I Am Jesus Christ’s demo is at stake.

Source link

September 6, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Hollow Knight Silksong features the voice of Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone

by admin September 6, 2025

Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone has voiced a character or two in Hollow Knight Silksong.

Barone’s name was spotted in Silksong’s credits, which you can access from the Extras part of the main menu. And when The Verge asked Stardew Valley studio ConcernedApe if this was the same Eric Barone who worked there, the company’s head of biz dev, Cole Medeiros, confirmed it.

But! Neither Mereidos nor Barone will confirm who Barone voices in Silksong. Medeiros said Barone would rather not say so as not to spoil anything. Barone could potentially be any of the weird and wonderful characters you bump into along the way.

There! Third down on the left. | Image credit: Eurogamer / Team Cherry

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

Source link

September 6, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Infinity Nikki’s latest update lets you build your dream home, and pal up with a Stardew Valley Junimo

by admin September 2, 2025

Infinity Nikki has kicked off a surprising new cross-over with its latest update. The new patch, version 1.9, is live now, and heralds the start of a new season alongside the aforementioned collaboration.

You may have assumed that there’s already a lot of cross-over between Infinity Nikki players and Stardew Valley players. Infold Games clearly agrees, because the developer is teaming up with the farming simulator for this next event.

Manage cookie settings

Patch 1.9 arrived in the game following the usual maintenance. Some parts of the update were available to download ahead of time through the game’s launcher. 1.9 is a fairly substantial patch for Infinity Nikki, not least because of the season it comes with.

Music Season is where the Stardew Valley collaboration lives. The new season is available until September 22, and as the name suggests, there’s music and rhythm games-inspired content here.

A Junimo from the world of Stardew Valley has arrived in Miraland, befriending Nikki. The two will take part in an adventure. Complete it and you’ll earn exclusive collaboration furniture for your home, and an outfit for Nikki.

Watch on YouTube

The story of the update itself doesn’t actually revolve around Stardew Valley. Instead, it’s about Nikki coming across a brooch that belongs to the Evermelody Troupe, which sets her off on a quest to investigate. You’ll visit the Box Theater (haunted by a new enemy) as part of this, and even witness a live rehearsal.

Supporting all that are the new rhythm game mechanics, which include dancing with town NPCs. The update also adds the ability to transform into small animals to uncover clues around Miraland.

The big new gameplay feature in 1.9 is the ability to build a home in Miraland. You can create your own living space, with the help of Yardlings. This is available as part of the Set Off for a Warm Place quest, which will teach you the basics. You can save your home designs, and even share them with others using a unique code.

Before jumping in, make sure you check our updated list of Infinity Nikki codes for September.

Source link

September 2, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

“The cat’s out of the bag” – Stardew Valley update 1.7 revealed, bagged cat content TBC

by admin September 2, 2025

Stardew Valley will get at least one more significant game update, says Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, mere months after stating that he doesn’t “want to just be the Stardew Valley guy.” It’ll be called update 1.7, and the trimness of the numbering implies that it’ll be a large one. For context, Stardew Valley update 1.6 brought eight player PC co-op, new crops, a lot more NPC dialogue, a mastery system, new pets, and the ability to give those pets hats (which caused a few problems).

“Okay, I revealed this at the concert last night and now the cat’s out of the bag, so I will confirm for everyone: There will be a Stardew Valley 1.7 update,” Barone wrote on Xitter over the weekend. “No release date, no estimate. But it’s happening.”

Barone is theoretically also working on a brand new game, the more combat-focussed RPG Haunted Chocolatier, but Stardew Valley keeps luring him back, for there is always something else to fix or introduce, however daft. “It’s just so much easier to just add more stuff to Stardew Valley than to make a whole new game from scratch,” he said in May. “Because Stardew Valley, all the systems, the major systems, are already all done. That’s the stuff that’s not fun to do. When I make an update, it’s like, throw in this, throw in that, let’s add green rain. These random ideas I have. Whimsical ideas.”

In Barone’s defence, if I had made the fourth best-selling premium PC game of all time, I would feel in no great rush to move on from it. I would tinker for years. Well, I mean, I would actually take a lot of holidays. But in between all those trips to Alton Towers and when not playing Micro Machines in my bedroom-sized caramel fondue, I would do plenty of tinkering. Ah, I imagine George R. R. Martin wishes he could be updating the old GOT novels instead of writing The Winds Of Winter.

Source link

September 2, 2025 0 comments

Esports

ConcernedApe announces Stardew Valley 1.7 update is happening

by admin September 1, 2025

Stardew Valley isn’t going anywhere. ConcernedApe just announced he’s working on even more content for the mega-popular game, confirming a 1.7 update is indeed in the works.

Despite having been released over nine years ago now, Stardew Valley only grows more popular with each passing day. Just this July, it made history by becoming Steam’s top-rated game of all time.

While a full-fledged sequel has been considered, updates to the base game are what maintain and even grow the cozy game’s community. The occasional quality of life tweak is one thing, but for solo dev ConcernedApe, a new update means a whole lot more.

Article continues after ad

Following the release of the jam-packed 1.6 update, many assumed Stardew Valley was finished once and for all, but now we have confirmation that’s not the case. A 1.7 update is in the works and here’s what we know.

Stardew Valley 1.7 update confirmed

ConcernedApe took to the stage in Seattle, Washington, on August 30, 2025. This night kicked off the second Stardew Valley world tour for the Symphony of Seasons. It was here that he announced plans to continue supporting the game.

Article continues after ad

“I revealed this at the concert last night and now the cat’s out of the bag,” he later shared on X (formerly Twitter). “There will be a Stardew Valley 1.7 update. No release date, no estimate. But it’s happening.”

Okay, I revealed this at the concert last night and now the cat’s out of the bag, so I will confirm for everyone: There will be a Stardew Valley 1.7 update. No release date, no estimate. But it’s happening pic.twitter.com/RnNgc3ERER

— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) August 30, 2025

Beyond mere confirmation, any other details are being kept close to the chest. There’s no quite telling just yet whether this update will introduce new areas, characters, items, secrets, and the like, or moreso focus on additional features and refinements.

Article continues after ad

If we were to hedge our bets, though, we’d bet the house on there being plenty of new content for long-time fans to get excited about.

When could the 1.7 update release for Stardew Valley?

As ConcernedApe made clear from the jump, there is no release date or even a rough release window at this point in time. The 1.7 update will simply be ready when it’s ready.

Given he works alone to this day, these things take time. From new music to pixel art and, of course, the coding itself, ConcernedApe is doing it all. Thus, it’d be safe to assume we’re still a ways out.

Article continues after ad

For context, below is a quick overview of when all the previous major Stardew Valley updates were released over the past decade.

Timeline of past Stardew Valley updates:

1.0 – February 26, 2016
1.1 – October 3, 2016
1.2 – April 24, 2017
1.3 – August 1, 2018
1.4 – November 26, 2019
1.5 – December 21, 2020
1.6 – March 19, 2024

As you can see, the biggest gap yet was between 1.5 and the most recent update in 1.6. While we wouldn’t expect 1.7 to take another three and a bit years, it’d be wise not to hold your breath based on this trend.

However, it is worth noting that the game itself launched in full back in February 2016. Thus, February 26, 2026, marks the 10-year anniversary of Stardew Valley. There’s no guarantee, of course, but this would certainly be a great occasion to tease new details about the 1.7 update.

Article continues after ad

Will it impact ConcernedApe’s other game Haunted Chocolatier?

Like millions of fans, you might be wondering how the continued development of Stardew Valley might impact ConcernedApe’s next game, Haunted Chocolatier. We’ve known about the next game since 2021, with the dev confirming he’d been working on it from as early as 2020.

Article continues after ad

There’s still no release date in sight for Haunted Chocolatier, and with the 1.7 update now on the agenda too, it could hold it back even longer.

ConcernedApe was quick to assure fans on social media, that won’t be the case. “My plan is that this will not hinder Haunted Chocolatier development,” he said.

Article continues after ad

My plan is that this will not hinder Haunted Chocolatier development

— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) August 30, 2025

The best laid plans can always change, of course, so do take the comment with a grain of salt for now. At the time of writing, there’s no quite telling when we might see either the 1.7 update or Haunted Chocolatier, but rest assured ConcernedApe is toiling away.

Source link

September 1, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Stardew Valley is getting yet another surprise update

by admin August 31, 2025

We may not have a date for Stardew Valley‘s next major update, but we have confirmation that it’s happening. Eric Barone, the developer behind the hit farming sim, announced that there will be a 1.7 update during the Stardew Valley Symphony of Seasons concert in Seattle, later confirming the news with a post on X. Barone, better known as ConcernedApe, didn’t reveal a release date, nor any teasers about content.

Considering the numbered update, we’re expecting more than just a patch and something similar to the fresh content added in the 1.6 update. The previous update released in March of last year and delivered a ton of free content, including the Meadowlands Farm, a new three-day festival, more crops and novel NPC interactions.

Fans will always welcome more content for Stardew Valley, but some expressed concern about how this will impact the release timeline for Barone’s upcoming title, Haunted Chocolatier. The developer revealed the standalone title in 2021 and told PC Gamer in April of this year that he wouldn’t work on any more Stardew Valley updates until he’s done with Haunted Chocolatier. To offer some reassurance, Barone replied on X that the 1.7 update “will not hinder Haunted Chocolatier development.”

Source link

August 31, 2025 0 comments

Eric Barone smiling and talking about Stardew Valley

Gaming Gear

Bless him, Eric Barone cannot stop updating Stardew Valley, has announced version 1.7 is coming

by admin August 31, 2025

“I’m committed to not working on Stardew Valley until I’m done with Haunted Chocolatier,” Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone told us earlier this year. And that commitment lasted all of four months, I guess.

At one of the recent Stardew Valley Symphony of Seasons live concerts, Barone addressed the audience to say that after the 1.6 update he wasn’t sure if he’d ever do another, but more recently he’d changed his mind. “I wanted to share something with you tonight, it’s kind of a secret,” he continued. “There’s going to be another update.”

It was not a secret for long, and Barone confirmed on Twitter that 1.7 is definitely coming. “Okay, I revealed this at the concert last night and now the cat’s out of the bag,” he wrote, “so I will confirm for everyone: There will be a Stardew Valley 1.7 update. No release date, no estimate. But it’s happening”.

Of course Haunted Chocolatier is still happening too, though. In the replies, Barone commented, “My plan is that this will not hinder Haunted Chocolatier development”.

We don’t know a huge amount about Barone’s next game, but we do know that Haunted Chocolatier will include the obvious chocolate-making and shop-simming, as well as archery, boss fights, books, and a larger world than Stardew Valley. And of course, there will be fishing. If Stardew Valley is anything to go by, it’ll probably be well-supported after release as well.

Best handheld PC 2025

All our current recommendations

Source link

August 31, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Stardew Valley will be getting another update after all

by admin August 30, 2025

Just months after revealing there’d be no more Stardew Valley updates until Haunted Chocolatier released, creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone has confirmed that another update is coming to the fan-favourite farming sim.

Addressing fans at the Stardew Valley Symphony of Seasons concert in Seattle, Barone himself took to the stage and revealed a “secret” to the excited attendees.

Let’s Play Stardew Valley Multiplayer – THE ONE WHERE JOHNNY EATS AN EGG!Watch on YouTube

As posted to TikTok by jillbobagginz (thanks, FRVR), Barone said: “After that [last 1.6] update, I was thinking, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to make another update’. But I wanted to share something with you tonight, it’s kind of a secret… there’s going to be another update.”

We don’t know any details yet, of course, let alone timescales, but it’s great news to Stardew fans nonetheless, given Barone revealed in April that Stardew “pulls [him] away from devoting all [his] time to Haunted Chocolatier,” the follow-up game he’s also currently working on. Quite how this new update will impact the development of Haunted Chocolatier – if at all – remains to be seen, though.

Pixelated farming sim Stardew Valley first debuted almost a decade ago, and has since gone from strength to strength. Last year, Barone released Stardew Valley’s bumper 1.6 update, which essentially boosted the game to an almost 2.0 status, introducing a vast number of features to the base game such as new NPC dialogues, home renovations, and turtle pets.

As of December last year, Stardew Valley had sold in excess of 41m copies across platforms. Of those 41m, over half are on PC, with 26m copies sold. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch accounts for 7.9m Stardew Valley sales and though there’s been a handful of crossovers with other games during that time, Barone recently revealed he’s never made any money directly from in-game collaborations.

Source link

August 30, 2025 0 comments