Stardew Valley's 1.6 update now in the "bug-fixing and polishing phase"

Stardew Valley's 1.6 update is almost done, with developer Eric Barone saying he's "done adding major new content to it now." He's now in the "bug-fixing and polishing phase". When it does arrive, it'll be Stardew Valley's first major update in over three years.

"1.6 ended up being a little larger in scope than originally planned," Barone tweeted yesteday. "I'm done adding major new content to it now, though, and it's in a bug-fixing and polishing phase until it's ready for release. Thx for your patience. It'll be fun to see everyone play it!"

Update 1.5 was released in December 2020, with Barone then beginning work on an entirely new game, the wintery and more combat-focused Haunted Chocolatier. He turned his attention to Update 1.6 last April, with the intent on focusing on changes for modders.

The update has obviously ballooned from there, as Barone's updates tend to do. It should add eight-player multiplayer, over 100 new lines of dialogue, a new festival, and a lot more. Most recently, Barone has said he's in "(self-imposed) extreme crunch mode" to get the update finished.

Barone has also said that, while it's difficult to compare the size of the update to 1.5, he does recommend playing on a new save. "It'll be fine to play on an old save, but I'd probably recommend a new save just to experience everything in context, otherwise you'll unlock a bunch of stuff right away when you load up your old save," he tweeted.

I've never put any serious time into Stardew Valley, but it's a pleasure to write about a game that is beloved by its players and continues to be supported by its devoted developer.