Stardew Valley’s long-awaited 1.6 update gets March release date on PC

Stardew Valley is celebrating its eighth anniversary today (yes, I couldn’t believe it either) and developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone has marked the occasion by announcing a release date for his beloved farm-life sim’s eagerly awaited 1.6 update – which is coming to PC on 19th March, with a console and mobile release to follow “as soon as possible”.

Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update was revealed to be in the works back in June 2022, when Barone warned it would be relatively modest in scope and ‘mostly modding-focused’. Since then, however, it’s ballooned substantially, with Barone so far confirming it’ll bring one major new festival and two new mini festivals, new items and crafting recipes, new dialogue lines, a new farm type, new late-game content, winter outfits for villagers, a new larger chest, 8-player co-op on PC, plus – most importantly of all – hats for cats and dogs.

It was exactly one month ago today that Barone last shared a progress report on 1.6’s development, revealing he was “done adding major new content” and that it would “definitely” release this year – and we now have an exact date to mark in our calendars.

“It’s the 8th anniversary of Stardew Valley,” Barone wrote in a celebratory message shared on social media today. “Thank you for all the support over the years! Today I am announcing the PC Release date for the 1.6 update: March 19th. Console and mobile will follow as soon as possible.”

“With a new update on the horizon, a worldwide concert tour underway, an official cookbook coming soon, and now over 30 million copies sold,” Barone continued, “Stardew Valley is thriving more than ever. As always, I’m eternally grateful to the players (you!) for making all of this possible.”

It’s been a little over four years since the launch of Stardew Valley’s previous major content update, after which Barone announced his next project, Haunted Chocolatier – a darker, more fantastical twist on Stardew Valley, featuring “magical haunted ghost chocolate” among other things. Last April, however, Barone revealed he was “taking a break” from Haunted Chocolatier to focus on Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update, and with its 19th March release date now looming, Barone concluded, “Now, back to the grind. See you in three weeks”.