Stardew Valley dev vows to never charge money for an update

It is rare that a game developer swears an oath upon his family name and the honor contained therein. But Eric “Concerned Ape” Barone has indeed invoked the line of his ancestors and their reputation for honorable behavior and sworn such an oath, forswearing forevermore the idea that any such DLC as that which may yet grace his hit game Stardew Valley could ever be released for a toll of money. Furthermore, he entreats us most sincerely to save an image of his oath, and should he ever break it, hurl upon him scorn and shame until the heavens themselves take note of his actions.

Okay, so I could have just said Concerned Ape, developer of Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier isn’t going to charge for any DLC or updates, but how often do I get to write the intro to a post like the introduction to a fantasy novel? Not as often as I would like, that’s for sure! Also, in a video game industry that has seen all sorts of monetization schemes over the years, from Battle Passes to cosmetics and other customizations locked behind pay, it’s refreshing to see a developer with a game series this beloved releasing new content for it without needing to buy said new content.

Barone even notes that other devs in the industry are not in the same circumstances he is — ConcernedApe is the developer, publisher and designer of Stardew Valley, and as such, he has total and complete control over the game, what it releases, and most importantly what if anything such content costs. There’s no one above him to tell him that he has to put paid DLC, or a series of cosmetic rewards for pay, or indeed to countermand or demand anything from him. He can make as much content as he wants to and charge anything or nothing for it at will. Relatively few game devs are in such a position in today’s industry.

I’m as always impressed by Stardew Valley and how ConcernedApe has gone about working on it over the years, never losing sight of the particular vision he’s had for the game. This is just another sign of how in touch he really is with his frankly very fanatical players.