Stardew Valley creator, known as ConcernedApe online, has taken to X—formerly known as Twitter—regarding the new 1.6 update of his fans’ favorite game. He says he’s made “a ton of progress on 1.6 last month,” though the release date is currently unknown. (1)
He revealed an image of a new item on X, a big chest that can store “twice as much as a regular chest.” ConcernedApe hasn’t released much of what’s to come, but he does say that, “it’s (self-imposed) extreme crunch mode, nose to the grindstone (raw nose) mode,” as of his latest post to X. Although the game’s creator is “keeping mostly everything secret,” he did post a list of what fans can expect for the coming update.
A new major festival and two mini festivals will be coming. Fans speculate whether these festivals are in Summer, which is lacking in the festival department. Will these festivals bring new items or quests? Could the mini festivals be farmer’s markets where players can sell their stock? Could the major festival be a New Year’s Festival taking place in Spring? Maybe there will be new quests or activities relating to these festivals.
There is also said to be “new late-game content, which expands on each of the skill areas.” Could players get to a skill level higher than level 10? Could there be new professions for these higher skill levels? There also might be new rewards that come with the skill levels, or new abilities unlocked with the skill levels.
New items and recipes will be added with the new update. Maybe these items are from new areas or new mob drops. There will also be over 100 new lines of dialogue, which will make the game more interesting for people who have played through the game many times. Winter outfits will be added for all the NPCs as well.
Although no one wants to go the Joja path in Stardew Valley, there will be new Joja alternatives to end-game quests in the new update. Maybe it’s time to lean into capitalism and start a Joja save, playing as a Joja worker.
In the 1.6 update, there will also be a new type of reward for billboard requests. This is interesting because most billboard requests are rewarded with gold, friendship points, recipes or items. What else could be given? Players will just have to wait for the new update. Support for eight player multiplayer will also come with the new update, but only for PC players.
ConcernedApe has also hinted at new secrets over the last few months. One of his latest updates, images of new items appeared next to the text. At the bottom, two villagers’ winter outfits are seen. There seem to be three new frog types, possibly a desert frog, a blue frog and what appears to be a void frog. Maybe frogs will be a new farm animal.
There also appears to be a new type of tree and bush. Maybe this could hint at a new area that players are able to discover. A seemingly new character is also seen next to the one of the updates. Could this character also hint at a new area? Maybe a new series of quests surround this character. There is also a new type of warp totem which could also hint at a new area. ConcernedApe has also said that players will be able to place hats on cats and dogs, which makes for a cute new addition.
Besides all of these new additions for update 1.6, Stardew Valley fans can also look forward to the Stardew Valley concert series, coming to Boston on Feb. 23. A band will play fan-favorite tracks from the collection of music from the game.
ConcernedApe has also been working on a new game called Haunted Chocolatier. The release date is currently unknown. The game features similar graphics to Stardew Valley, but a completely different storyline. Players start the game as a chocolatier, and they make chocolate for their town. There are new characters and storylines, more mob fights, including boss mob fights and so much more.