Stardew Valley 1.6 update sounds a lot bigger than it was originally billed as.
Earlier this year in April, Stardew Valley developer Concerned Ape (AKA Eric Barone) teased the first details of update 1.6, saying it would be a modding-focused update. That no longer seems like it'll be entirely the case though, as according to the new tweet from Barone below, update 1.6 will offer three new festivals, new endgame features to expand on skills, and new items and crafting recipes.
1.6 content sneak peek. no release date yet pic.twitter.com/vyhbFRkZ00September 27, 2023
That's just scratching the surface of update 1.6. Elsewhere there are over 100 lines of brand-new dialogue, winter outfits for villagers, a new type of reward for billboard quests, and support for eight-player multiplayer on PC. There's actually no mention of the modding-focused features Barone previously teased for update 1.6 in the tweet above, at least.
Over on the game's subreddit, players are loving how Barone previously downplayed the update, only to add masses of brand new content. "He started to add new stuff and just started spiraling. He couldn't stop if it meant his life 😭" writes one comment, with another adding "He does this every time. It's great having a developer that loves the game as much as us."
"I love the free updates. Sometimes I think he should just sit down and bang out an actual expansion / DLC for the game. Lord knows everybody here would be chomping at the bit to give him more money," weighs in another player. It's true - Barone could probably net a small fortune were he to add paid DLC to Stardew Valley, but he's never even flirted with the idea.
Stardew Valley's 1.6 update is a nice surprise for its community then, who just seem really dang grateful to Barone for the effort. The update's been in development for over a year now, with Barone previously saying in September 2022 that it'd release "when it's ready." It's taken a fair while to get here, but it sounds like 1.6 will be well worth the wait.
Check out our Stardew Valley cheats guide for a look at all the various exploits we've found to date.
