Stardew Valley has truly become an indie gaming classic, lovingly supported by an amazing (and personable!) one-man developer, and a vibrant community. Stardew Valley officially celebrated its 10th anniversary on Feb 26, 2026 with a fun retrospective video, and the announcement of two new marriage candidates coming in the 1.7 update.
The 10-year anniversary video features developer Concernedape (Eric Barone) presenting older versions of the game, including when it was originally known as Sprout Valley. It’s interesting to see the basic layout of the town, NPCs, and gameplay all functional, even as the art style evolved.
Apparently the mines used to be one large area the player could dig through, but that proved to be just too much to implement.
Stardew Valley’s passionate indie development is well worth researching, and part of Jason Schreier’s excellent game developer chronicle, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels.
Concernedape posted the following message on the official Steam page:
Back when Stardew first came out, I was worried it might be a flop. Now, 10 years later, it’s one of the highest rated games on Steam, and has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. It’s been quite a journey.
Of course, none of this would be possible without you, the players. So I would like to thank all of you for playing this game, for being part of the community, your love for the characters, the billions of crops you’ve harvested, and even your screams of terror as the serpents swarm over you in the skull caverns.
There’s been many free updates to the game over the years, and even now, there is a new major content update in the works — the 1.7 update.
[…]
Anyway, thanks so much for supporting me and my game over the years. I hope Stardew continues to bring you many, many hours of fun & relaxation.
The new marriage candidates are Clint the blacksmith, and Sandy, the general store owner in the desert town. Clint is kind of a funny choice, but my daughter was very excited about the Sandy romance.
Stardew Valley has received many major updates over the years, including adding co-op multiplayer back in 2018. Concernedape’s next game, Haunted Chocolatier, was announced back in 2021.
