Everything we know about ConcernedApe’s Haunted Chocolatier
Stardew Valley creator Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone has revealed his next game, so here’s everything we know about Haunted Chocolatier thus far, including plot, gameplay details, and the announcement trailer.
Following the success of the beloved farming simulatorStardew Valleyin 2016, fans long wondered what the next title under ConcernedApe’s belt would be.
Back in early 2020, the solo game developer teased that he was working on new projects, and on June 18, 2025, he finally revealed his next venture:Haunted Chocolatier. Here’s everything we know about the game.
Is there a release date?
There’scurrently no release date set for Haunted Chocolatier. In fact, ConcernedApe revealed that development only really started in 2020, so it could still be a ways off, given he’s a lone developer.
“I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. I’ve been mostly working on the ‘meat and potatoes’ of the game so far,” he said in an earlyblog post.
In August 2024,ConcernedApe sharedmore bad news on Twitter. “I have not touched Haunted Chocolatier in a long time because I am committed to finalizing Stardew 1.6 first,” he wrote in a longer tweet apologizing to Stardew players on console and mobile.
Announcement trailer
On August 19, 2025, ConcernedApe released the announcement trailer for the game that showcased the gameplay and gave a glimpse at new characters, including Lily, blacksmith Burk, Maddie, and Jett.
According to theFAQ sectionof the Haunted Chocolatier site,the only platform we can expect Haunted Chocolatier to release onat the momentis PC. However, the creator has highlighted that he has “every intention of bringing [Haunted Chocolatier] to the other major platforms as well”. It just might not be at launch.
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What is Haunted Chocolatier about?
The developer has kept tight-lipped about the plot of his next game so far. But what we do know is thatyou will play as a chocolatiermanaging a confectionery shop inside a castle filled with ghosts.
You make your own chocolate, going out and gathering ingredients for your recipes, which you then sell once it’s made. In a blog post, ConcernedApe revealed that it is very much “another “town game”, where you move to a new town and try your hand at a new way of living,” but is “quite a bit different” compared to Stardew Valley.
Gameplay details
Despite looking likeStardew Valleyat first glance with the pixel art style, Haunted Chocolatier is very different. Yes, it features a town with townspeople you interact with, but you trade a cozy farmhouse for a dark castle.
Thesingle-player gameisan action RPG, meaning battles play a big part in the gameplay. You defeat enemies like slimes and crows and forage for ingredients, before taking it back to your kitchen to craft your chocolate. One particular screenshot even shows off a boss fight with a giant bee.
haunted chocolatier screenshotpic.twitter.com/clo66Vagv4
It appears as though you can invite townsfolk to your castle, and have one-on-one interactions with villagers, even being able to choose conversation options.
One such visitor was revealed in September 2023, as ConcernedApe continued his usual cadence of releasing one new screenshot at a time. Here, we see an elderly man waking from a “terrible dream.”
Who could he be? Well, one theory suggests he may be the very sameGrandpa from Stardew Valley, implying the worlds are connected. We’ll just have to wait and see if that’s indeed the case.
here’s a haunted chocolatier screnepic.twitter.com/bCVy3NJaMS
On top of this, as revealed by the developer on August 26, players can expect familiar fishing minigames to be present within the new game. Whether it’ll look like the fishing we know from Stardew Valley is yet to be seen, but given the popularity of the minigame, it’l likely it’ll be at least similar in design.
Haunted Chocolatier screenshots
We got a new look at Haunted Chocolatier on June 06, 2025. Out of the blue, ConcernedApe shared a fresh gameplay screenshot on X (formerly Twitter).
pic.twitter.com/XQZSSCuGLP
There’s not much else to glean from the image beyond the fact that it looks as gorgeous as ever.
To celebrate 1 million followers, Concerned Ape, the mind behind Haunted Chocolatier, shared a few images of the upcoming Haunted Chocolatier. You can see them below:
Thanks for 1 million followers 👍here’s a few Haunted Chocolatier imagespic.twitter.com/3PW2jMIF3R
