While Stardew Valley has been available on the Nintendo Switch for quite some time, Nintendo and developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone have announced that the cozy farming and life sim is getting a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition this Fall. The announcement was accompanied by a short trailer, which you can check out below.
While we didn’t get too many details about what kinds of upgrades we will get to see with the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, the trailer does confirm that there will be 4-player local co-op (Switch 1 is limited to two players). You can play local wireless multiplayer with other Switch and Switch 2 owners as long as one person owns the game, thanks to GameShare.
On the performance side of things, we’re unlikely to see much in the way of improvements since Stardew Valley has always been a low-resolution title that aims for a retro feel thanks to its pixel art style. Higher frame rates in handheld mode due to the console’s refresh rate are likely, though.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the eShop page for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is inaccessible, so how it will be priced remains to be seen. It is unlikely to be particularly expensive, however, since the original Switch version is priced at $14.99.
Earlier this month, Barone had confirmed that he had begun working on a new major update for Stardew Valley. The announcement was made during a recent Symphony of Seasons concert, though he later explained that there is no current release date.
Barone’s dedication to Stardew Valley has certainly been quite noteworthy, with him having spoken about how he would continue to work on the cozy game for 50 more years if he felt the need to.
“I do take in a lot of what the fans are saying,” said Barone in an interview, referring to getting fan feedback and new ideas. “I pay attention to what their thoughts are, what their criticisms are. And the players are very important to me. I mean, I will never forget that it’s because of the players that I’m in this position, that the game was able to be popular, that my dreams as a game developer have come true.”
In the same interview, Barone also spoke about the concept of a game having “too much content” and how this can lead to developers feeling overwhelmed when it came to working on things like bug fixes.
“I think a game can have too much content,” continued Barone. “And I ultimately want Stardew Valley to be the best game it can be. So if I feel like it’s starting to become kind of overwhelming with content to the point where it’s detrimental to the game’s entertainment factor, I would stop at that point. Another thing is, I do want to make more than one game in my life. Including the development time, I’ve been working on Stardew Valley for over 12 years now.”
Stardew Valley is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Android and iOS.
