The developer of Stardew Valley releases a progress update on the next version of the game, along with the future of co-op multiplayer and eventual console ports.

Ever since its release on Steam, Stardew Valley has accumulated a growing mass of fans who quickly became heavily engrossed in the Harvest Moon-inspired title. For the uninitiated, the game features quite a few similarities (and improvements) upon the original farm-building franchise, such as rebuilding an old farm, befriending the townspeople, getting married, and even interacting with spiritual forest sprites, bringing an element of magic into Stardew Valley. What makes it all the more impressive is that the game was created entirely by one man, as opposed to a fully-staffed studio.

Now that solo developer ConcernedApe has taken a well-earned vacation following the successful launch of his game, the Stardew Valley creator says that he is both refreshed and ready to get back into the swing of things. He took to the official website today to let fans know what the plans were regarding the future of the title, and to state that there are free updates aplenty to go around. ConcernedApe plans for the upcoming 1.1 update to feature a substantial amount of new content, and also went on to discuss some important news regarding co-op multiplayer and eventual console ports.

In order to get the long-awaited co-op feature included as soon as possible, ConcernedApe has accepted an offer from his publisher, Chucklefish Games. The publisher will now handle all the technical aspects involved with getting the co-op multiplayer feature up to snuff, localizing the game for different languages, and porting the game onto current generation consoles. This lets ConcernedApe focus on developing new content for the game, rather than worrying about things like console licensing and the technical side of multiplayer connections.

In the more immediate future, the developer also went on to discuss just what the aforementioned 'substantial content update' for version 1.1 will entail. Here's what ConcernedApe is cooking up to keep gamers interested in the Harvest Moon-inspired title:

  • More late-game content
  • New farm buildings
  • New crops
  • New artisan goods
  • New advanced farming/producing mechanics
  • Shane and Emily will be marriage candidates. They will also have more events and dialogue as a result.
  • More marriage content for all spouses
  • More events for the non-marriage NPC’s
  • Improvements/Additions to mining and combat
  • Ability to move buildings and other convenience features
  • More bug fixes
  • More secrets
  • More small, fun touches to the world

Fans have been clamoring for Shane and Emily to become marriage candidates ever since the game came out, and ConcernedApe had commented before that he was open to such an idea. Marriage content was also an oft-requested demand, since some of the marriage candidates seem to lose most of their personalities after the big day.

ConcernedApe's plans seem to focus on late-game, which is an indication that the solo developer is intending to maximize the longevity of the title. As it stands right now, there isn't much for players to do after they complete after 3 or 4 in-game years.

What do you think about Stardew Valley, Ranters?

Stardew Valley is currently available now for $14.99 on Steam for PC, with Mac and Linux versions in development.

Source: Stardew Valley