Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone is gearing up to release the 1.6 update for perennial farming/lifeing sim Stardew Valley, but budding pixel croppers might want to start a new save file to see all the newness “in context.”
Barone announced just yesterday that Stardew Valley 1.6 had ballooned in size and was now much larger than planned since its announcement in April 2023. Update 1.6 was initially said to be focused on improvements for modders, presumably to future-proof the game while Barone worked on his ghostly follow-up Haunted Chocolatier, but his following teases painted a much bigger picture.
Barone has since hinted at strange storage solutions, pets wearing hats, and a fresh New Year event complete with fireworks – alongside various other additions, fixes, and improvements. Update 1.6 is also content-complete, according to the developer, and is now just going through some polish before its release this year.
With so much fresh content, some players were wondering whether they should begin anew to see everything 1.6 is adding. In response to one player who asked if they should bin their Year 2 farm, Barone recommended that a new save file would be ideal, although you can’t go wrong no matter what.
Continuing from a Year 2 save, for example, won’t be a problem since you’ll “see most of the new content that way,” Barone says in a recent tweet, “but I still might recommend a new file just for fun and to see everything in context.” I’m personally excited to spend many more endless seasons in the rural life sim.
In the meantime, check out the newest urban life sim from a former Stardew Valley developer.