Stardew Valley was a runaway hit when it was released in 2016, and today it's still going strong with updates constantly improving its performance and making it better. However, that dedication to the game has meant that Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone has paused production on his follow-up project Haunted Chocolatier, which is yet to receive a release date. The creator has reiterated that it will take some time to develop, which perhaps is indicative that it was revealed too early.
Early announcements mean that more unexpected issues can arise in the meantime, which pushes the launch back and can disappoint those who have marked it on their calendars. Haunted Chocolatier will receive a lot of attention when it does finally hit digital storefronts, but its journey thus far has been a strange one and could suggest that it will suffer the same fate as a game that has been on fans' minds for half a decade.
Anticipation is The Elder Scrolls 6's Worst Enemy
Teased at the 2018 E3 event, The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of the most anticipated games to be released, and it's the next entry in the RPG franchise that is one of the pillars of Bethesda Softworks. Like Skyrim and Oblivion before it, the likelihood is that it will be a sprawling, medieval-inspired, high-fantasy experience, giving players the freedom to craft their own characters, undertake elaborate side quests, and get lost in an expansive open-ended space. The series is one of the most iconic in the genre, meaning the stakes were high to begin with, but five years have passed, and the game is still not on shelves.
It would be safe to assume that The Elder Scrolls 6 is a while away, as Bethesda's RPGs typically take a long time to make. Skyrim is 13 years old this year, so the early reveal as well as the lengthy wait since the 2011 entry means that anticipation is at an all-time high, and pressure to make it worthwhile is as lofty. Haunted Chocolatier is on a far smaller scale, but its announcement showed enough to be legitimately excited and gave fans enough insight into how it will be different from Stardew Valley.
Haunted Chocolatier Has to Follow Up a Masterpiece
ConcernedApe's Stardew Valley came out of nowhere to be one of the best games of the 2010s. Stardew Valley is still receiving updates, and players have enjoyed tending to their farms for years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. With that unexpected success comes even higher expectations, as the developer has not been corrupted by big companies, nor is chasing high sales to keep a big corporate machine afloat. Haunted Chocolatier, much like its predecessor, is a humble indie game that will hope to put a smile on players' faces, the difference being that Stardew Valley didn't have to follow up a near-universally acclaimed outing.
An early announcement and subsequent news that the development of Haunted Chocolatier would be paused temporarily will hopefully prove to be a bump on the road, but it could be indicative of something bigger. The Elder Scrolls 6 is, in many ways, the main event whereas Starfield is the warm-up, but seeing as it's still a while away from being available to players, it contributes to a wider conversation that early announcements that do not take into account unexpected delays are a real problem in the gaming industry today. Haunted Chocolatier could be the latest example of this.
Haunted Chocolatier is in development.