Chucklefish has handed the publishing rights for the mobile version of Stardew Valley back to its creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone. From now on, he will be self-publishing the game on all platforms.
Back in 2018, Barone announced his decision to self-publish Stardew Valley. Since then, he’s owned the rights to operate the game on PC, Xbox, PS4, and PS Vita. Now, the developer said that he can also publish Stardew Valley on iOS and Android.
He also announced a little AMA session, so players could ask him “questions about anything.”
I’m now self-publishing Stardew Valley on Android. With this change, I’m now self publishing the game on all digital platforms. Also, feel free to ask me any questions (about anything ) and I will answer as best I can
— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) March 17, 2022
Speaking of self-publishing, ConcernedApe noted Steam is still the easiest platform to work with: “I haven’t had enough experience with mobile yet as I just recently started publishing there. Consoles in general are a lot more complicated than PC.”
On March 17, 2022 publisher Chuckelfish wrote a thank-you post to ConcernedApe, saying that it originally had a two-year agreement with Barone. As of now, the company has transitioned publishing duties for the mobile version of Stardew Valley.
“I want to say thank you to Eric for working with us and trusting us to help build the Stardew Valley experience to what it is today!” Chucklefish director Finn Brice said. “Eric built one of the best games in the last decade and we are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of its story.”
ConcernedApe is now working on his second game, an “adorable chocolate shop sim” Haunted Chocolatier. The project is still early in development, so it has no release date yet. However, there is a possibility that Haunted Chocolatier will be somehow connected to Stardew Valley.