Concerned Ape’s Next Game After Stardew Valley is Haunted Chocolatier

Stardew Valley developer ConcernedApe has revealed his next game. Called Haunted Chocolatier, it shares many characteristics of the incredibly popular farming sim that’s now a household name, but it intends to stand apart as something more whimsical, fantastic, and “unleashed” than SDV.

Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe, revealed Haunted Chocolatier through a recent blog post and relatively long 2:25 trailer that shows what’s presumably an early build of the game in action.

Barone said his work to this point has been on the “meat and potatoes” of Haunted Chocolatier, with the “good stuff” still to come.

So far, there are ingredients to collect, chocolate to make with the help of little ghosties, and a shop to decorate and manage. There are relationships to forge, gifts to give, and mysteries to unravel. And, of course, there are enemies to defeat such as slimes and evil ravens. 

Right now, Haunted Chocolatier shares many similarities with Stardew Valley, even down to its pixel graphics and incredible music, but it’s not a sequel to that game. Well, at least not in its current form. Barone hasn’t said one way or the other just yet, but he clarified where SDV is more traditional, Chocolatier will be more “unleashed.”

He said:

So far, I’ve been having fun working on this game. There are so many possibilities. With Stardew Valley, I felt somewhat constrained, because I was working within an established tradition. I don’t regret that at all, but there’s always been a part of me that wanted to go “unleashed”.

I believe this will be a good opportunity, but I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. I’ve been mostly working on the “meat and potatoes” of the game so far. But what really brings a game to life is the spice, the sauce. And I haven’t really gotten to the sauce yet. That’s coming.

Despite Haunted Chocolatier‘s spoopy vibe, Barone also said that this isn’t an “evil or negative game,” and he wants it to be something “delightful” and “uplifting.” 

There’s still a lot we don’t know about Haunted Chocolatier. Since it’s still in the early stages of development, Barone didn’t share a release window or timeframe, nor did he share the platforms on which he intends to release the game. But stay tuned for more. We’ll be watching this one closely.