Highlights
- Stardew Valley's creator, ConcernedApe, has been teasing fans with hints about the upcoming Update 1.6, which is one of the game's biggest additions yet.
- The recent teaser image of a Qi fruit has sparked speculation among fans, who believe it could be a hint at the potential for growing giant Qi crops in the game.
- Qi fruit is a unique crop in Stardew Valley that disappears after completing a specific quest. The possibility of growing giant Qi crops could mean a higher selling price and more availability in the game.
With a dedicated fan base, Stardew Valley has held players' attention for years, with many now heavily focused on a new, mysterious Qi fruit teaser for Update 1.6. The game's creator, ConcernedApe, has been dropping hints at Stardew Valley Update 1.6 content over the past several weeks, prompting fan anticipation to rise.
First released in 2016, Stardew Valley is a farming life-sim game, popular for its wholesome characters, in-depth storytelling, and relaxing gameplay. The game has received several updates since its release, with the highly-anticipated Update 1.6 being labeled as one of the biggest additions yet. With no confirmed release date for the new content, ConcernedApe has been keeping fans satiated with small, cryptic hints at what's on the way.
Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe shared a simple yet mystifying image of what appears to be a Qi fruit, as a teaser for Update 1.6. The image shows a large blue fruit with green leaves, sunglasses, and a smirking face. Fans recognized the fruit as a Qi fruit, which only appears in the game during the "Qi's Crops" quest, in which the mysterious Mr. Qi asks the player to grow and ship 500 Qi fruit in 28 days. No caption or context was provided with the image, leaving fans perplexed and speculative.
Many fans have already begun guessing that the image is a hint at Qi fruits getting the potential to grow as giant crops in Stardew Valley, based on the differences in the new image compared to the original sprite. Currently, the only crops capable of producing giant variants are melon, cauliflower, and pumpkin. As such, fans are incredibly excited at the potential for another giant crop to be making its way into the game, though the Qi fruit remains a curious choice.
What's special about Qi fruit in Stardew Valley?
Unlike other crops in the game, Qi fruit is the only item that instantly vanishes from the player's fields, inventory, chests, and even preserves jars and kegs once the associated quest is completed. The only known way to keep Qi fruit after the "Qi's Crops" quest is to sell the fruit to Pierre at his shop and then buy the fruit back the following day. While not among the most valuable crops in Stardew Valley, being able to store Qi fruit can help to ensure that players are able to complete the quest if they fail to ship enough of the item in the initial time limit. With ConcernedApe hinting at the possibility of giant crops being grown from Qi fruit, there may be a possibility that the crops will be available beyond the "Qi's Crops" quest, and the Qi fruit may finally have a higher, more valuable selling price.
As player anticipation remains at a steady buzz, Stardew Valley continues to receive love from fans. ConcernedApe recently posted about his appreciation of Stardew Valley-themed Halloween decorations being shared online, and in turn revealed the curious sneak peek at Update 1.6. As more hints are revealed, interested fans will want to stay tuned for more details on upcoming Stardew Valley content.
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is a hit Indie release that spawned a cult following thanks to its similarities to titles like Harvest Moon and The Sims. Players will take control of their own characters as they are dropped into the eponymous Stardew Valley and given an old dilapidated farm. They'll cultivate new crops and relationships with the NPCs scattered around the area, as well as combat monsters and embark on other quests.
