ConcernedApe is working on his next masterpiece: Haunted Chocolatier! The game is still currently in development, but we already have a release date expectation, and some early news to share about Haunted Chocolatier. Here's everything we know about the game so far.
Since creating the masterpiece we know as Stardew Valley, the game's developer, Eric Barone aka Concerned Ape, has been working on his next big project: Haunted Chocolatier! The game was announced back in October 2021 and there hasn't been much info released about the game, but hype is already immense!
That's why we're here. We'll tell you everything we know about Haunted Chocolatier and when we think the game will be released. Gosh, I can't wait!
Haunted Chocolatier: Release Date Expectations
There is no set release date for Haunted Chocolatier. ConcernedApe has already announced that the game's development will still take quite some time, especially because he is still working on new updates for Stardew Valley .
While ConcernedApe has been working on Haunted Chocolatier since 2020, the game's development is currently on hold, as he is focusing on working on the next big Stardew Valley 1.6 update. He announced this back in April 2023 on Twitter (or should we say X?), with the announcement of the Stardew Valley 1.6 update.
We should also factor in that he is creating Haunted Chocolatier all by himself, just as he did with Stardew Valley, which took four and half years.
On the other hand, he had to create a great many sprites for Stardew Valley from scratch. But in Haunted Chocolatier, because it uses a very similar (if not identical) art style to Stardew Valley, he can "reuse" sprites. This should certainly take a load off of Eric Barone's back.
But as helpful as reused sprites can be, given the weight of having to also work on Stardew Valley, we predict it will take Eric Barone until at least 2025 to finish and release Haunted Chocolatier.
Eric Barone has mentioned that he wants to work on the game in his own time and doesn't want the pressure of a release date, which is completely understandable, so there probably won't be any release date announcements until the game is fully ready for release.
Haunted Chocolatier: Gameplay Expectations
ConcernedApe has already said that he would like to keep most of Haunted Chocolatier a mystery, so we don't really know a bunch about the game yet, but we do know some key aspects.
There will be some similarities between Haunted Chocolatier and Stardew Valley, since Haunted Chocolatier is also an RPG/simulation game. But ConcernedApe has always been keen to stress that this is its own game, and thus it will obviously set a different focus for players. He described the game as such:
In this game, you will play as a chocolatier living in a haunted castle. In order to thrive in your new role, you will have to gather rare ingredients, make delicious chocolates, and sell them in a chocolate shop.
Eric Barone also said in the Haunted Chocolatier's FAQ that it will be "another town game”, where you move to a new town and try your hand at a new way of living, just like in Stardew Valley.
You’ll get to know the townspeople, achieve your goals and make progress in many ways.
The art style may be similar to Stardew Valley, but the gameplay aspects will differ quite a bit and, of course, we'll also get new items and features. For example, since we'll be working inside a chocolate shop, it seems as though we'll have a lot of creative liberty when it comes to designing the interior of our shop.
If you haven't already, check out the official Haunted Chocolatier trailer, here it is (it shows some early gameplay):
There will be a bunch to explore and many new characters to meet, that we'll probably quickly learn to love. Some characters that were already shown are Burk, Lily, Maddie, Jett and Nigel. Let's see who we get to romance in this game, if there even are romance options. I hope so.
Haunted Chocolatier: News
There haven't been any massive updates from ConcernedApe, but he did reveal back in April 2023 that "The town is on the water and there will be docks", which could introduce new aspects that weren't explored in Stardew Valley, such as going out with a small boat to gather ingredients, or perhaps a possibility to swim in the water?
Other than that, he's also released a Haunted Chocolatier scene in September 2023, which showed a pretty familiar face...
here's a haunted chocolatier screne pic.twitter.com/bCVy3NJaMS
— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) September 5, 2023
Most recently, on October 4, 2023, he released four new images from Haunted Chocolatier. And that me think he's gotten pretty far into the game's development already, right?
Take a look at the new pictures for yourself:
Thanks for 1 million followers here's a few Haunted Chocolatier images pic.twitter.com/3PW2jMIF3R
— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) October 4, 2023
As soon as more is released about Haunted Chocolatier, we'll keep you posted!
Haunted Chocolatier: Platforms
Haunted Chocolatier will probably only be released for PC, at least at first. Eric Barone has stated that he intends to bring the game over to other major consoles, just as was the case for Stardew Valley, but it will probably be at a later point after the game has already been released on PC.
The same can also be said for languages other than English. There will be translations, just not immediately.
We'll update you regularly on Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier content, so make sure to check back for more information! How excited are you to play Haunted Chocolatier? No wait, wrong question, what are you more excited for: Stardew Valley update 1.6 or Haunted Chocolatier?