While Stardew Valley fans patiently wait for the previously announced 1.7 update, creator Eric Barone (ConcernedApe) has shared some tiny, vague, but invigorating hints about what the mysterious update may entail: a novel farm type and “more character/social issues.”
This comes from a Twitter/X post from ConcernedApe, where he was asked if he could give any hints about the upcoming update. His answer was quite plain: “There will be more character/social stuff. It’s also tradition to add a new type of farm. Lots more, but I don’t want to reveal too much yet.”
there will be more character/community related elements, it is also a tradition to add a novel type of farm. Much more, but I don’t want to reveal too much yet
— ZapokojonyApe (@ZapokojonyApe) December 17, 2025
It’s not a lot of detail, but it’s certainly enough to spark your imagination. Indeed, a novel type of farm could be expected. Stardew Valley started with just one farm map style, and since its release most major novel content updates have added at least one, for a total of eight different options. Each farm map focuses on a different specialization, with the standard map being quite general and open, and other maps promoting fishing, foraging, mining, combat, multiplayer, a combination of fishing and foraging, and animal husbandry. Currently, this means that basically every type of playstyle is supported, so there is a lot to consider when it comes to imagining what novel type of farm could be added. Perhaps something that encourages friendship building with NPCs?
“Character/social issues” is a bit more vague. This could mean anything from novel scenes and events with existing characters to completely novel characters. It’s really demanding to say at this stage!
Popular fan requests for future Stardew Valley features include more NPCs, including more romantic NPCs, more dialogue and lore, but also generally more of everything: more animals, more crops, more decorations, more clothes, more enemies to fight, food to cook, and so on. ConcernedApe hasn’t really revealed anything yet about what version 1.7 will include or even when we could expect it. He did not provide a release date, only suggesting that it is possible that it will be released only after the release of Haunted Chocolatier. Maybe. It’ll be ready when it’s ready.
However, ConcernedApe abandoned one more thing. When asked about a potential Nintendo Switch 2 edition, he said he was announcing something.coming soonThe Switch 2 edition was first announced in September, and the Switch version will include mouse controls, four-player split-screen multiplayer, and Game Share multiplayer. No release date has been announced yet.
We re-reviewed Stardew Valley in 2024 to take into account the many, many updates made since its launch in 2016. While our original review gave it an impressive 8.8/10, our re-review hailed it as a 10/10 masterpiece, stating: “Stardew Valley is not only the best farming game I’ve ever played, it’s one of my favorite games of all time. I and others return to this eight-year-old gem every time it reaches “Even the best result and the smallest update prove that this is truly a masterpiece in the genre that it both invigorated and defined.”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Have a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
