Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update is now in the “bug fixing and polishing” phase

Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update is almost complete, and developer Eric Barone said he’s “now done adding significant new content.” It is now in the “troubleshooting and polishing” phase. When it arrives, it will be Stardew Valley’s first major update in over three years.

“The scope of 1.6 ended up being a little larger than originally planned,” Barone said tweeted yesterday. “I’m now finished adding major new content and it’s in the bug fixing and polishing phase until it’s ready for release. Thank you for your patience. It’ll be fun to watch everyone play!”

Update 1.5 was released in December 2020, and at that time Barone began work on an entirely new game, the wintery and more combat-oriented Haunted Chocolatier. Last April he turned his attention to Update 1.6, intending to focus on changes for modders.

The update obviously skyrocketed from there, as Barone updates tend to do. It was expected to include eight-player multiplayer, over 100 new lines of dialogue, a new festival, and much more. Most recently, Barone said he was in “(self-imposed) extreme crunch mode” to complete the update.

Barone also said that while it’s difficult to compare the size of the update to 1.5, he recommends playing with a new save. “It’s fine to play with an old save, but I would probably recommend a new save just to experience everything in context, otherwise you’ll immediately unlock a lot of things when you load your old save,” he says tweeted.

I’ve never been serious about Stardew Valley, but I enjoy writing about a game that is loved by its players and continues to be supported by its dedicated developer.