Since 2016, the adorable farming sim Stardew Valley has dominated the cozy gaming market. The game, designed to emulate the nostalgia of 16-bit pixel games, was an instant success, selling 1 million copies a month after its release. It’s now sold over 41 million copies across all platforms as of December 2024, and recently received the title of the highest-rated game on Steam. An amiable accolade, as it brought an end to the 14-year streak of the award-winning platformer, Portal 2.
While 41 million sales by no means reach the heights of Minecraft (350 million), Grand Theft Auto V (220 million), or Wii Sports (82.9 million), Stardew Valley is still in the top 20 of best-selling video games of all time. An impressive feat, considering the game’s writing, programming, art, music, and sound effects were all created by one guy.
Yes, Eric Barone, or ConcernedApe, taught himself how to code to create this game. After 4 years of development, doing 60-hour work weeks, Barone’s once-small indie game has turned into a global phenomenon.
So…it’s no surprise that when he announced he was working on a new game, the Internet went wild.
In October 2021, after dedicating 10 years of his life to Stardew Valley, Barone announced that he was working on a new game— Haunted Chocolatier.
The game, which keeps to the pixelated art style, has players working as a shopkeeper in a haunted castle. Through the few photos and videos shared with his enraptured fanbase, it's clear that there will be a town to explore with new townsfolk to connect with. The game’s preview also shows off its combat mechanics (with some familiar green slimes), how you’ll actually make the chocolate, and a plethora of other secrets waiting to be discovered.
In the game's introductory blog post, Barone said he wanted to explore more fantastical elements, while maintaining the positive and uplifting story we’ve come to know and love from his games.
Haunted Chocolatier sadly has no set release date, as a recent update shared by Barone said he’s still deeply invested in maintaining his first love, Stardew Valley, as the farming sim’s 1.7 update is underway.
However, Barone has enlisted the help of a small team to keep Stardew Valley afloat so he can dedicate more time to Haunted Chocolatier (completely solo again, by the way).
In December 2024, Barone said that he’s created a skeleton of Haunted Chocolatier, but that the game still has a long way to go.
"I will be very happy when the day comes that I can finally release Haunted Chocolatier. However, as with Stardew Valley, I will not be doing any “early access”, crowdfunding, or pre-orders, so I don’t feel a ton of external pressure to finish the game on a timeline,” he said. “Ultimately, I will not release a game unless it is complete and I am very happy with it, and I think that’s what most people would want, anyway.”
As Barone’s confidence in coding has only grown during the past 10 years, we have no doubt that Haunted Chocolatier will be an astounding sophomore game for the solo creator.
