ConcernedApe gives a Haunted Chocolatier progress update: 'I torture myself over every last detail'

Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone has posted a new blog update on Haunted Chocolatier, titled "Still here, still grinding…" — confirming he's still deep in development and has nothing concrete to announce yet. The update is light on new reveals but heavy on insight into why the game is taking so long.

Barone's main point is that he refuses to ship anything that isn't as close to perfect as he can get it. He used the chocolate recipe book UI as a specific example — a screen players will use constantly — and described iterating on it multiple times to nail the balance between information density, visual clarity, and ease of use. "I torture myself over every last detail," he wrote. "You need to be able to accomplish your goal with the minimal number of clicks." He also explained why he's reluctant to show the game off: early screenshots risk setting expectations that later changes might not meet. "Partly, it feels like I'm serving a half-baked bread. I would rather serve a fully baked bread." He's also candid about the awkwardness of posting the same "still working on it" update repeatedly — "Feels kinda dumb posting this same thing over and over, but that's the reality."

Haunted Chocolatier was announced in 2021, and Barone has already confirmed it will be bigger than Stardew Valley — a game that took him four and a half years to build solo. Stardew Valley itself launched in 2016 and has been updated continuously ever since, which has eaten into Haunted Chocolatier development time. Barone has expanded his team slightly to handle ongoing Stardew Valley work — including the upcoming 1.6 and 1.7 updates, which he isn't leading directly — specifically to free up more of his own time for Haunted Chocolatier. But the new game still appears to be largely a solo effort, and given its scope, the timeline is stretching accordingly.

Haunted Chocolatier has no release date, and based on this update, one isn't coming soon. Barone closed by thanking fans for their patience — and given the track record of Stardew Valley, most of them seem willing to wait.