Stardew Valley's multiplayer is "coming along great"

While we wait for online cooperative multiplayer to officially arrive in Stardew Valley -- early 2018, last we heard -- creator Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone has shared a little update. It's "coming along great", he says, and "already really fun". I mean, sure he would say that, but it's Stardew Valley in multiplayer so I'll believe that. The wait continues but Barone does share a nice picture of a farm he worked on:

That's a lovely little wood, isn't it? While some folks favour organised rows of crops, I like a bit of wooded sprawl on a farm.

The reason Barone has a little log cabin will be because he's there as a farmhand. Stardew Valley's co-op will have extra players live as farmhands in cabins on your farm, rather than sharing your house or bringing their house over from their own farm.

Farmhands are secondary players but publishers Chucklefish, who are in charge of adding multiplayer, have said farmhands can do "almost anything" the main farmer can. "They can farm, mine, fight, fish, forage, marry NPCs and take part in festivals." They won't have a say in certain decisions that fall to the main farmer, mind, such as "when to sleep, when to start and end festivals, and whether to side with Joja".

I always see Stardew Valley as a bit of a getaway, not something I'd want to play with pals, but I can see the fun of farming and adventuring with friends.

If you can't wait for official support, you can try Stardew Valley's unofficial multiplayer mod. It's bit janky but hey, it's multiplayer.

Barone is already thinking about his next game but don't expect to hear much about it for ages. Chucklefish are also borrowing a bit of that Stardew spirit for a new game of their own, the witch school game codenamed Spellbound.