Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone Vows Free DLC for Stardew Valley Forever

The Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone posted on social media, promising to never charge for any future DLC or updates.

The Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone made a bold statement this morning. He said he will “never” charge money for a DLC or update “for as long as I live.” He posted this on social media on X in response to the development of the console and mobile ports of the Stardew Valley 1.6 update following the PC patch release back in March. This is a guarantee that players will only have to pay about $15 for the game and not a penny more for the additional content.

As spotted by GamesRadar , Barone wrote on his personal X account: “The ports and next PC update are still in progress,” shared Barone. “I know it is taking a long time, it’s on my mind every minute. I have personally been working on the mobile port every day. I will announce when there is any meaningful news (eg. a release date). Hope you’re having a good summer.”

Funnily enough, a fan followed up on this post to say people will not complain about the wait “as long as everything you add is completely free.” Then, Barone responded with his over-the-top snarkiness, “I swear on the honour of my family name, I will never charge money for a DLC or update for as long as I live. Screencap this and shame me if I ever violate this oath.”

Farming life-sim Stardew Valley was released in 2016 and has received plenty of updates ever since its release. To date, none of these updates have ever asked consumers to pay for them. The 1.6 update added a tonne of new content, including new festivals, items and crafting recipes, dialogue, a new farm type, and plenty more. It was well-received by fans and was followed up by more patches of content. Another fun addition was that players could now drink mayonnaise if they want!

Even though Barone was only making a reassuring comment on the future developments of Stardew Valley, it could be speculated that his sentiments is also applicable to his next game, Haunted Chocolatier. There’s no release date for that game yet, though Barone said he is “not too concerned with the pressure” and that it is “better to have a delayed game that’s actually good than a bad game that’s on time.” Additionally, Barone did not announce an estimated timeline for the Stardew Valley 1.6 update on console.