Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone revealed a significant development about his upcoming game Haunted Chocolatier in a social media post this morning.
"The world of Haunted Chocolatier is larger than Stardew Valley," wrote Barone. It's unknown if Barone is speaking about the physical map size of Haunted Chocolatier, or the "world" at large, i.e. the lore and setting. Barone doesn't generally speak in riddles, so it's likely the former.
Stardew Valley's map is already sizeable, especially if you include the various levels of the Mines, but these are procedurally generated. Haunted Chocolatier is set to be more expansive, though we still don't know many specifics.
It took Barone four-and-a-half years to develop Stardew Valley, but the solo game developer has been splitting his recent time between developing Haunted Chocolatier and updating Stardew Valley. He has expressed a desire to keep working on Stardew Valley indefinitely in the past, to reward the game's loyal player base.
That being said, Barone announced in April that Stardew Valley won't be getting any more major updates, at least not until Haunted Chocolatier is done. Barone has said many times that his upcoming chocolate-driven game is not being rushed.
We don't actually know...
