Highlights

  • Stardew Valley Update 1.6 drops March 19, 2024, bringing changes to fruit trees, endgame content, and 8-player multiplayer.
  • Update 1.6 makes moving fruit trees easier by yielding saplings when cut down, reducing wait time and economic impact for players. The fan response to this has been extremely positive, as though moving trees has no monetary benefit, it's a quality of life change players didn't even know they wanted.
  • ConcernedApe's dedication to improving Stardew Valley with bug fixes, updates, and QoL changes is a huge reason why he is so beloved.

Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone recently announced on Twitter that Stardew Valley’s much-awaited Update 1.6 will drop on March 19, 2024, and it will come with a welcomed change to the game’s fruit trees. This modification, alongside new endgame content and 8-player multiplayer, are subject to long discussions on Reddit and other forums. Barone continues to stoke the fires of online discourse surrounding Stardew Valley’s big patch by posting screenshots of random patch notes leading up to its release on X (formerly known as Twitter).

The first Tweet pertains to the game’s fruit trees, which garnered over 55K likes, 3.6K reposts, and almost 500 replies at the time of writing. It’s by far the most popular Update 1.6 patch note spoiler that ConcernedApe has posted. Even the ones related to big bug fixes to combat and harvesting have yet to match these stats. Stardew Valley remains one of the best farming games partly because of Barone’s seemingly unending resolve to improve the game. It’s over eight years old and still gets bug fixes and big updates like:

  • Multiplayer mode (Update 1.3)
  • New farm maps (Updates 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6)
  • Endgame content (Updates 1.5 and 1.6)

ConcernedApe even introduces quality-of-life changes to the game that fans didn’t know they needed, like the upcoming fruit tree patch in Stardew Valley Update 1.6.

stardew valley mines combat
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Stardew Valley Dev Reveals 2 More Changes Coming in Update 1.6

Stardew Valley developer ConcernedApe gives fans a sneak peek at the Update 1.6 patch notes, revealing two more changes that are on the way.

Stardew Valley 1.6 Makes Fruit Trees Easier to Move

Barone’s first Update 1.6 official patch note post on X stated that cutting down a fruit tree can now yield a sapling. It used to be that players could only get wood when they chopped their fruit trees to make way for other crops or buildings. If players wanted to replant their tree, they had to drop anywhere from 2,000g to 6,000g to get the appropriate sapling from Pierre’s General Store. Plus, players have to wait agonizingly long (around 28 days) for the tree to mature once it’s planted.

ConcernedApe, true to the first part of his screen name, recognized this dilemma and is making it easier for players to move their trees in the 1.6 update. The sapling will also be the same quality as the fruit, as long as the tree itself is mature before it is cut down. Furthermore, the better the quality of the sapling, the faster it will grow once players replant it. This means that players will only have to sacrifice a few days of growing and harvesting time if they want to move their fruit tree in Stardew Valley.

Stardew Valley Update 1.6’s Fruit Tree Changes Show Why ConcernedApe is Such a Beloved Developer

Once the post about Update 1.6’s fruit tree changes dropped, fans immediately had questions about it, and Barone answered just as quickly. One asked whether this change would have any economic benefits, and ConcernedApe answered that this is just intended to make the process “less of a tragedy” for players who want to move their tree. Barone also clarified that the fruit trees will only mature faster when they’re replanted, so players still have to wait for them to go through different stages to get the best fruit quality. He confirmed that even freshly planted fruit trees will produce saplings as well.

The reactions to the post were unanimously positive, with players remarking that the update is a game-changer and that it’s a quality-of-life improvement that they never knew they needed. It just goes to show how much dedication and love ConcernedApe puts into his first title, even after all these years. He listens to fans and surprises them with improvements that go above and beyond their expectations despite being Stardew Valley’s sole developer and designer. All things considered, it’s not hard to see why he’s such a beloved figure in gaming.