ConcernedApe’s Haunted Chocolatier

ConcernedApe’s Haunted Chocolatier is a standalone action RPG with life sim elements by Eric Barone, the creator of Stardew Valley. The player character moves into a new town, lives in a haunted castle and is meant to build up a chocolate shop. To do this, ingredients are gathered, chocolates are made and finally sold to customers.

The common ground with Stardew Valley lies in the town, its residents and a personal activity that gives everyday game life structure. The focus shifts, though: instead of farming, Barone wants to put more weight on exploration, gear and combat. The systems shown so far come from ongoing development and may still change.

A release date is not confirmed. Barone announced Haunted Chocolatier in October 2021 with an early gameplay video. Since then he has deliberately held back on release predictions, and in 2026 he also said the game will only come out once it meets his quality standards. The sometimes-circulated claim of a fixed year 2030 he has explicitly rejected.

Early Access, crowdfunding and pre-orders are not part of the planned release model, according to him. In August 2026 the developer reported further progress without naming a date or release window.

The only platform ConcernedApe has officially committed to so far is PC. Barone would like to bring the game to other major platforms later and could bring in external support for ports. However, there are no verified native release commitments for specific PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo consoles.

Likewise, English is so far the only language confirmed for sure. Additional translations are intended but not yet fully planned. The platform and language details therefore remain deliberately open, rather than presenting expected ports as confirmed versions.

Haunted Chocolatier is not meant to be just a shop or cooking sim. The environment has to be explored to obtain rare ingredients. In a more combat-focused world, adventure, gear and the growth of your character are meant to make up an important part of the game. At the same time, a new town with its residents is part of the long-term game concept.

Barone explicitly calls it an action RPG whose focus differs from the farming of Stardew Valley. Individual systems are not finished yet. The material shown early is no guarantee that every detail will remain unchanged until release.

Making chocolate is not just background story: ingredients are to be turned into processed products and then sold in your own shop. How exactly recipes, material properties and sales are connected is not yet finally decided.

In May 2025 Barone explained that he is planning several crafting paths. Some are meant to work more with experimentation and intuition, others more rule-based and predictable. In June 2026 he reported that he is still refining the recipe book and its user interface, because players will use this system often. The concept of several crafting paths is announced, but the final recipe logic has not been revealed.

The very first developer presentation already showed more than the toolset of a classic farming sim. ConcernedApe described a shield mechanic that can block numerous enemy attacks. A successful block can temporarily stun enemies and thereby open a window for faster follow-up attacks.

This approach favors a patient style of play, in which enemies are watched and favorable moments are used. More direct, aggressive tactics should remain possible too. Further items for the off-hand are planned to support different combat styles. Barone explicitly points out that animations and individual mechanics may be reworked during development.

Haunted Chocolatier is currently planned as a single-player game. ConcernedApe explicitly says there are no plans for multiplayer. The co-op from Stardew Valley therefore must not simply be assumed as a future feature for Haunted Chocolatier.

There is also no binding commitment yet to long-term mod support. What is certain, however, is that Barone is building his own technical foundation with C# and MonoGame and does not plan a direct sequel based on the Stardew Valley code.

Behind Haunted Chocolatier is Eric Barone, under his name ConcernedApe. So far he is developing the main game content alone and intends to act as publisher too. He only plans to bring in outside help for later technical tasks such as localization or console ports.

Barone describes the development process as deliberately iterative. After working on Stardew Valley 1.6 and other commitments, he devoted more time to the new project again from 2025 on. In 2026 he highlighted, among other things, his work on the chocolate recipe book's controls. The development time is therefore not a reliable indicator of a specific release date.