I want Eric Barone to make his new game, but I get why he’s still fixing Stardew bugs

Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone acknowledged earlier this year that his long-awaited next game, Haunted Chocolatier, started “getting dusty on the shelf” while he worked on Stardew Valley’s 1.6 patch. As much as I’m looking forward to his ghosts and ganache life sim, I don’t think there are many among us who’d fault Barone for continuing to tinker with the beloved farm sim that made him famous.

He’s hardly the only one who’s struggled to move on from a hit game. His story echoes that of Terraria developers Andrew “Redigit” Spinks and ReLogic, who keep making that game’s “last” update only to make yet another huge one every time. I’m also reminded of George Lucas’ famous inability to quit messing with Star Wars, although the controversial film re-releases aren’t quite the same thing as well-received Stardew Valley additions and bug fixes—I don’t think anyone’s really complaining in this case.