Stardew Valley 2: Will We Ever Get A Sequel?
The indie country-life role-playing game Stardew Valley, with all its pixelated cuteness, has been a big hit ever since it came out on PC in February 2016. To date, it has sold more than ten million copies. Its publication on different platforms, such as the PS4 and Xbox One, has come in dribs and drabs over the years, but it seems that waiting didn't bother many people. Stardew Valley was released for the Nintendo Switch in October 2017 and became that console's most downloaded game of the entire year, according to Eurogamer.
It has been a number of years since the game's initial launch, and many people are still enjoying its farm sim aspects, its more leisurely pace, and its charming details. Of course, Stardew Valley still has plenty of life left, thanks to constant additions by developer Eric Barone. In his quest to constantly improve the title's playability, the indie developer has continued to add robust updates. These have included seasonal events, the addition of items and buildings, more marriage candidates, and the addition of multiplayer.
Still, isn't it about time for a sequel? Will we ever get a Stardew Valley 2?
The future of Stardew Valley
The answer, according to Barone, is "probably." But he is a one-man show, and Stardew Valley isn't the only project he's working on.
In fact, he's currently trying to get out a new update, Update 1.5, out very soon. After that, he hasn't said whether he'll commit to Update 1.6 or start working on a sequel, though he clearly loves the world. In a September 2020 interview with Game Informer, he only confirmed that Update 1.5 may not be the end. "I would not be surprised if there's another Stardew Valley update, or multiple updates, or a Stardew Valley 2. Who knows?" he said. "After 1.5, I'll decide what the next step for Stardew Valley is."
Barone, who now self-publishes the game on every platform except mobile phones, has been posting about what's coming on Twitter under the name @ConcernedApe. Update 1.5 will include, he says, "a significant new piece of end-game content," along with the addition of banana trees thanks to the result of a Twitter poll. So, Barone is clearly hard at work making this a reality — but what comes after that?
Chances are good that we'll see more, but it may take some time before this one-man show decides what he's going to do next within the world he's created.