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It’s well-known in the gaming community that Stardew Valley was once a one-man passion project. And for a formerly lone developer like ConcernedApe to have achieved such heights in the video game industry, it’s easy to lose sight of your humble beginnings. However, Stardew Valley is a gift that keeps on giving with its 1.6 Update, as it has revitalized the game in many ways that even live service games (for reference) wish they could.
Stardew Valley 1.6 Adds Dozens of Hours of Content — for Free
We’re not even exaggerating.
The full 1.6 Update changelog containing various fixes and new content is longer than this article. Still, some of the most major additions to the game include:
- A whole mastery system that adds new perks and items (basically a new endgame)
- Dozens of new NPCs (more singles to woo)
- Pets!
- New festivals and events
- A new farm type and biome
- Home renovations, and the list goes on
It’s like a whole new expansion and can easily pull you back into Stardew Valley for dozens or even hundreds of hours of gameplay. The best part? It’s all given for free for those who already own Stardew Valley, which, mind you, is a $15 indie game that’s often on sale.
Stardew Valley also isn’t a live-service game, and if ConcernedApe wanted, he could have just left the game as it was back in 2016. However, nearly a decade later, the developer continues to provide some quality DLC and expansion-sized updates for the game. It now has more content and quality than even most AAA titles, particularly those with exponentially bigger budgets.
It’s a New Industry Standard, it Should Be
With the AAA game industry continuing to struggle under the weight of its own expectations and live-service voracity, Stardew Valley‘s free expansion-sized update sets the bar even higher.
Sure enough, the Stardew Valley community is quick to notice and appreciate the depth and generosity of the Stardew Valley 1.6 Update. Reddit user u/jonathanfcb posted a highly upvoted take praising the developer’s commitment and care for the game and its community.
And wouldn’t you know it, some of the most upvoted responses to the post include promised support for ConcernedApe’s next game, Haunted Chocolatier. The continued quality updates for Stardew Valley have reassured players of a similar loving treatment for Haunted Chocolatier, making it an already strong title even way before its release date.
Some AAA studios could learn a thing or two from that, and live service games might want to take their cues. Because the Stardew Valley community has spoken, this is how you do it.
