Updated: In 2018, the Stardew Valley creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone announced he would self-publish the game in the future. It followed a year later with the original publisher Chucklefish being accused of exploiting contributing workers during its development of Starbound. Barone addressed this situation in a blog post.
Now, in a new blog post update from Chucklefish, it seems Stardew is entirely in control of Eric Barone - with the publisher announcing it has handed over responsibility for Stardew mobile, which was the "final platform" the company was acting as the publisher for.
"We originally entered into our agreement with Eric for a two-year term – with a plan of transitioning publishing duties and responsibilities after release. Today we handed over responsibility for Stardew mobile, which was the final platform we were acting as publisher for – now ConcernedApe is set up to self-publish for all platforms!"
It also used this opportunity to thank ConcernedApe for "trusting" the team to help grow the Stardew Valley experience into what it is today.
"We loved and still love every minute of the experience. Our small team worked hard and we are so proud of our joint achievements with ConcernedApe: New Languages, Development of the wiki, Multiplayer, Console releases, Physical releases & merchandise, Mobile version... We wish the team at ConcernedApe all the best, and as fans ourselves we’re looking forward to your next project!"
ConcernedApe mentioned earlier this year how there were currently "no plans" for more Stardew Valley updates, but wouldn't necessarily rule them out. Right now, he's focused on his next project - the Haunted Chocolatier, which will obviously be self-published.
- Further reading - Stardew Valley Creator Opts To Self-Publish Game On Switch Amid Chucklefish Allegations
Are you looking forward to ConcernedApe's next game? Would you like to see more updates for Stardew Valley? Post a comment down below.
[source chucklefish.org]
Comments 34
I would play this on any Platform but Mobile? no thank you. I detest Mobile gaming if that's what you want to call it with every fiber of my being.
@RubyCarbuncle don't tell topaz you said that topaz carbuncle loves mobile gameing
@Feguy Dude I have no idea what you're saying lol
I mean my Twitter name is Topaz Carbuncle but I never said anything about liking Mobile gaming if that's what you mean. Just a FYI for anyone seeing this but my username here and there is based on the Pet summons Topaz and Ruby Carbuncle from Final Fantasy XIV Online.
@RubyCarbuncle Well sure, Im not a fan of mobile gaming, but what about actual games on mobile?
@RubyCarbuncle Stardew Valley is the exact same game on mobile. You can even connect a controller. I don’t see the issue you seem to have made out of nothing.
@Snatcher In fairness there are some decent games on Mobile like Final Fantasy Dimensions 1 and 2 but generally I hate the controls on a Phone. If the game can be played with a Controller via Bluetooth that's perfectly ok however.
@nessisonett I didn't know it had Controller support so thanks for that.
Stardew Valley is a must have for any mobile device imo, it has many many different control schemes you can try and use so there's probably something that will work for everyone.
The 1.5 update is long overdue there though, hopefully they'll add it soonish.
It sounds like Eric, a very humble and infinitely talented independent developer, can now free himself from unnecessary drama. I'd suggest he never mentions this company again, whether or not any allegations were true, and instead do what he does best - make super-keen video games.
Good luck ConceredApe! May NFTs shower your future!
I need to get back to this game at some point.
Great, now full control instead of just the IP owner and supervisor. SDV mobile has really killed my faith in him ever finishing things, so now he’s got a better chance at recovering any credibility lost through having no update in about 18 or 24 months.
@RubyCarbuncle I too, detest mobile gaming with all my ninja being.
Except solitaire; that's actually pretty cool on my phone. And Desert Golfing. But I think you mean all the gacha/pay 2 win garbage games, right?
Stardew is the only game I have on my phone. While its not as good as console or PC version its nice to have a game I like that isnt a money grab with me all the time.
Man I really like Starbound, it's shame it ended up like that.
@RubyCarbuncle The mobile port is actually excellent and plays perfectly.
I own SV on PC, Switch, Xbox and mobile. I just like giving this guy money, the amount of content and time spent on it is worth it.
Cannot wait for Haunted Chocoltier.
I love Harvest Moon (before the brake up) styled games, yet I never played Stardew Valley. I have nothing against Stardew, I just dropped the kind of game that can easily suck hundreds and hundreds of hours as I no longer have that amount of free time to play games. Otherwise, I'm sure Id love it.
I'm wishing ConcernedApe all the best, and I hope Chuckle Fish fixes whatever was going poorly and learns better
Did anything ever come of those allegations? I guess Chucklefish was under no legal obligation to pay those people but they should have.
Chucklefish is pretty big now. At now what point does an indie developer not become 'indie?' What exactly does it mean to be indie? What are they independent from?
"Back in 2019, the Stardew Valley creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone announced he would self-publish in the future after the game's publisher Chucklefish was accused of exploiting contributing workers during its development of Starbound."
@Liam_Doolan That is not true, ConcernedApe began to move towards self publishing in 2018, a whole year before the accusations towards Chucklefish had even surfaced. The switch version followed suit in October 2019.
Source: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-12-01-stardew-valley-dev-splits-with-uk-publishing-partner-chucklefish
Heck, when he moved to self-publishing for the switch as well, he even made this comment nearly a month after the controversy had occured:
"I thank Chucklefish for their help in making Stardew Valley a major success on the Switch, and I’m looking forward to continuing full support of Stardew Valley on the platform!"
Source: https://www.stardewvalley.net/self-publishing-on-switch/
His move towards self-publishing never had anything to do with the Chucklefish controversy. It was just a coincidence that it happened is he was moving towards self-publishing.
@BloodNinja I hate most mobile games. Especially the ads. Some games are good though. I have the Escapists port. Also I have this 2012 Spider-Man game on my iPhone. It's not great, but it's open world, and it's a decent spider man experience on the go.
@Mikmoomamimocki Same. I’ll avoid ones that use ads at all costs. To this day, I don’t understand why mobile gaming has become a dumpster ground for advertising.
@RubyCarbuncle I get that mobile gaming overall is very disappointing and full of crap games. But there are some gems.
As mentioned here, games like Stardew Valley, Final Fantasy 1-9 and so on are just straight ports with controller support.
But then there are games like FANTASIAN, Stela and The Last Campfire that are all primarily mobile games and are all top notch games.
I highly recommend the Backbone ONE controller that means you aren’t far of a Switch experience. It’s iOS only atm, but an Android version is in the works. I use mine with PS5 Remote Play almost daily and works pretty much flawlessly.
Again, I agree that it’s mostly absolute junk when it comes to mobile games. But not all is bad, and it’s a shame to miss out of some of those gems just due to bias.
@Jeaz It's not that I find it bad it's mainly because I suffer from painful Arthritis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome so any game that can't be played with a Controller is a no go zone depending on how well or how bad the Controls for that game are implemented.
@RubyCarbuncle mobile gaming is amazing. Should definitely try it
@BloodNinja gacha games are fine. Just play the good ones like Fate online go, bleach brave souls, genshin impact, azure lane etc
@RubyCarbuncle Fair enough. I do recommend the Backbone then, should the urge ever arise to try out some gaming on mobile.
@Envy I play games on Mobile already. I was sort of exaggerating with my original comment lol
@Mikmoomamimocki - Mostly my mobile experiences are very strict. Only have about 2-3 (if you count Pikmin) on it. Tried many, but I hate, absolutely HATE, "passive play" games.
I want to be actively aware and in control of my game when I play. And so far Pokemon GO and Brawl Stars seems to scratch that itch just enough for me to not care of much else in mobile.
The best mobile gaming is using RetroArch for turn based games
Mobile gaming does suck for the most part,( i dont play free to play or free games) but there are good premium games that are found on PC and console that are ported over which are fine with a controller..some even without...also being able to play GameCube and ps2 games on my phone or tablet is pretty sweet ...been playing paper mario 1000 year door on my phone and its pretty great
@RubyCarbuncle I am 100% with you on this. I have never understood the purpose of mobile gaming devices in general. Gameboy, DS, Game Gear, PSP, any of them. I found them all pointless unless they had some sort exclusive game such as Pokemon. To me the point of a video game is to sit and relax in a comfy couch or chair and enjoy what is happening in the game. Scrunched up on a tiny screen, with horrible controls is NOT a good time, AT ALL. I am completely dumbfounded over this hype for the Steam Deck as well.
You will never convince me that playing a game on inferior hardware, with inferior controls, in a less than comfortable space is ever a good thing. There has never been a game in history good enough to justify that, not even Stardew Valley.
@BloodNinja
Holy moley another!
Phones are weird:
I buy a new iPhone every other year. I upgrade all my families phones at the same time so it’s not even like I pass my old ones down. I just have a box full of the old ones in pristine original boxes hahaha. {same for my Apple Watch and iPad Pro too. I like the top range of apple watches now, gone are the days of £15k Gold watches and in are the AMAZING AND GORGEOUS 2k Titanium or Ceramic models… and my families apple watches too haha)
I currently run a 512gb golden IPhone 13 Pro Max. It’s the best phone ive ever used and 5G is gaining traction where I live. I don’t get 5G at my house as it’s a mansion on top of moorland. Unless any of us here are near a window it’s 4G only.
I also have a pair of black AirPod max headphones that look and sound perfect. I’d never owned a pair of perfect audio devices before. As in: the sound you hear is what the engineer heard too. With ‘spacial audio’ I love how the sound is all around you… or In older stereo songs it can tweak the sound effect to make it shift direction as you move around.
It’s the best! I’ve no idea how anyone can buy android phones. It makes zero sense. Often times you can’t even update the firmware so even relatively new android devices are out of date! It’s ***** path-et-ic.
I still play Desert Golfing and only that. I used to play Pokémon go. It’s the only mobile game I play.
@Mynameishello I love that you totally gushed about your exquisite sounding headphones! That made my day. It was also fun to hear that another person plays Desert Golfing. It's really hard to put down! One of the best games I've actually played, honestly! (Besides Elden Ring! LOL)
And yeah, I use Android phones at work, and have an iPhone as my personal, and I hate the Android. It's unintuitive and takes me forever to figure out how to do basic stuff that is easy to pull off on iPhones in the settings. Sure, there is much more freedom in what you can do with an Android in comparison, but I'm not the guy that needs that lol. I get that fix on my windows PCs.
Never tried Apple watches, but that's because I dislike having anything worn around my wrists. Hope you're having a great day, thanks for replying!
NINJA APPROVED
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