Stardew Valley’s lone developer talks about self-publishing, patch 1.4, and multiplayer for Xbox One and mobile

    
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Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone seems to be the Trent Reznor of gaming development in that he works better either by himself or with a very select few, so word of his decision to self-publish Stardew Valley on the Nintendo Switch probably didn’t come as a huge surprise. In an interview with USGamer, Barone offered a little more insight into his decision, along with a few nods to the 1.4 “Everything update” and when multiplayer will arrive for other platforms the life sim-lite game is on.

According to Barone, self-publishing allows him to “fuss over the little details” that he feels are important, though he has taken on one other person to help with supporting Stardew Valley. Otherwise, he is entirely on his own, with plans for smaller updates to Stardew Valley and work on an unannounced title, which he once more is doing entirely solo.

As far as what’s next for Stardew Valley, Barone calls the 1.4 update the “Everything” update, which will feature a number of quality-of-life features to streamline the experience such as tabbing to the next line of inventory items on the PC or having a hovering tooltip over items that are part of community center bundles. Other features are planned for the update as well such as “heartwarming” features to post-marriage life and the ability to separate mulitiplayer farms and finances.

Speaking of multiplayer, the team is working hard on getting multiplayer functions to work on Xbox One; the core multiplayer gameplay is working, though they are reportedly running into several speed bumps in terms of meeting certification requirements for friend invites and voice chat. Xbox One multiplayer should be available “very soon,” while mobile multiplayer doesn’t appear to be on the near horizon yet. “It may end up being possible, but I’m not comfortable saying ‘yes, it will happen’ at this stage,” notes Barone.

Barone most recently made headlines for his statement distancing himself from publisher Chucklefish Games, which has come under fire for its labor practices.

source: USGamer
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