Chucklefish will still rep Stardew on Switch and mobile
Stardew Valley is a charming game made even more delightful with the knowledge that it was created by one passionate developer. Eric Barone adored the Harvest Moon series so much that he set out to design a fitting tribute that got every element right, and in the process, he rekindled a lot of people’s love for the farming sim genre. Stardew Valley was a feel-good story through and through.
Midway through development, Barone teamed up with a publisher, Chucklefish, who is otherwise best known for the 2D sandbox adventure Starbound. “I was a complete novice to the video game industry,” he said. “Chucklefish, as my publisher, oversaw the distribution, console ports and translations of the game. They set up the official wiki and helped me redesign the website, to great effect. And of course, Tom Coxon did amazing work adding network code to the game, making multiplayer a reality.”
Flash forward to now, and Barone is “ready to move forward” on his own as of December 14. “I think self-publishing is the end-goal of most indie developers, and I’m happy to be in a place where that’s possible! Expect some more announcements concerning the future of Stardew Valley soon.”
Chucklefish will stay on as the publisher of Stardew Valley for Nintendo Switch and mobile platforms, including the forthcoming Android version. “We are proud to be part of the Stardew Valley story and wish ConcernedApe every success with his new self-publishing venture,” the publisher said.
I’m not sure what the future holds for Barone, but it’s clear that he’s just getting started.
ConcernedApe [Twitter]
