'I'm not going to release anything I'm not happy with': Eric Barone says Haunted Chocolatier will be out when it's good and ready, 'even if that takes years and years'

I do not envy Eric Barone. Stardew Valley remains massively popular even a decade down the line, and is easily one of the biggest catalysts in the cosy gaming craze and the renaissance of the farming simulator. That kind of reputation is bound to put some heavy expectations on his next project, Haunted Chocolatier, from both fans and Barone himself.

With all the excitement and anticipation of his work in a shiny new setting, it's no surprise that folks just want to know when the darn thing is coming out. That's not something we know yet, though Barone does pop in with the occasional reminder that yes, Haunted Chocolatier is still happening, but when he wants it to happen. Not when we want it to happen. Which, if it was up to us, it probably already would have.

For how things are coming along now, Barone told IGN in a recent interview that headway is certainly being made, though perhaps not at the pace he initially anticipated. "The progress isn't as fast as I would like. Nothing is ever as fast as I would like," he said. "The main important thing about Haunted Chocolatier is I'm not going to release anything that I'm not happy with. If I don't think it's a great game, I'm not going to release it. So even if that takes years and years, so be it. That's just what I want to do."

Honestly, I respect it. It can't be easy trying to perfect your next creation in the sea of hungry farmers-turned-wannabe-chocolatiers. "Fortunately, I don't feel like there's any real pressure," he continued. "I haven't received funding from anyone or crowdfunding. There's not going to be any pre-orders."

That makes it much easier, it seems, to take things slower. "I don't actually owe anyone the game," Barone said. "It's like when I want to do it and when I want to release it, it'll get done." He does say that announcing the game has created some pressure since he doesn't "want to disappoint the fans by taking too long," but as he says: "there's no real physical obligation with it. It's more just mental constructs, you might say."

The bulk of the pressure seems to come from Stardew Valley's success more than anything. "It's been a huge struggle for me actually," Barone said when asked if the farming sim's fame makes it harder to know when Haunted Chocolatier is ready to go. "See, what I want to do is just not care and just make the game however, just whatever, not worry about it. But it's basically impossible because I can't help but think about how this will be received."

Barone continues that the push-and-pull of wanting to make a game he likes but also a game everyone else likes is a difficult balancing act. "I want to just make the game I want to make, but I also don't want a bunch of people to not like the game because they were expecting a certain thing. That's not going to feel good. I know that."

A truly blursed position to be in, if you ask me. Either way, there's still no sign of how close Haunted Chocolatier is to completion. And you know what? That's okay. Barone is still hard at work alongside his team to continue bringing delightfully dense updates to Stardew Valley that will no doubt keep us all fed and watered until we're ready to experience spookier, more chocolatey pastures.