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Stardew Valley 1.7's Biggest Mystery Just Got a Lot More Interesting - 'It's looking to be the largest Stardew Valley update ever' ConcernedApe (gamerant.com)
submitted 1 week ago by to c/games@lemmy.world
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During an appearance at the Symphony of Seasons concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater on October 25, ConcernedApe reportedly revealed that Stardew Valley 1.7 would be the game's biggest update yet, with a tentative release window of 2027. According to attendees, he also described Clint and Sandy as merely the "tip of the iceberg." That comment is particularly exciting in light of a mysterious message he shared in September, which has yet to receive any explanation. If the new marriage candidates represent such a small part of the update, the message's more ambitious interpretations suddenly seem worth another look.

In September 2026, ConcernedApe shared a cryptic message on the official Stardew Valley Discord server containing three clues about Update 1.7. The first stated that "two paths will be extended," which immediately prompted speculation about the game's existing progression systems. One straightforward interpretation involves Clint and Sandy, whose previously limited relationship paths will be expanded to accommodate romance and marriage. Considering both characters have been part of the game for years, this seems like a reasonable explanation. However, the developer's latest comments make me wonder whether the clue could be pointing toward something considerably more substantial.

Another interpretation involves the Community Center and JojaMart routes, which determine how players approach one of Stardew Valley's central storylines. Although both paths eventually allow players to develop Pelican Town, their long-term consequences are relatively limited once the major objectives are completed. Extending these routes could introduce additional objectives or more meaningful differences between their outcomes. Personally, I find this possibility more exciting than the romance explanation, particularly because it would give experienced players another reason to revisit one of the game's earliest decisions. Nothing confirms that the clue refers to these routes, but the reported scale of Update 1.7 makes the idea easier to imagine.

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[–] 2 points 6 days ago (5 children)

I had played many hours and experienced a few major updates that frustrated me. These updates added/changed things that altered the outcome of choices that I had made with the previous version of the game in mind.

It's been years since I have played the game at all, so I can't remember specifics about my farm. But I remember creating a building and dedicating it to wine aging or something, then there was some update that affected something like how wine works that made me regret even filling that building with casks to begin with. If that had always been how wine had worked, I would have taken a very different path with my farm. I can't remember if it was specifically aging/casks that had changed, but that's just a hypothetical example of the sort of things that change and cause frustration. Or how that second town bulletin board thing was added with new side quests. If those quests had always been in the game, I may have focused on completing those tasks instead of making another cave run or something.

It's just frustrating to follow updates that change the rules of the game. I would rather be able to create a farm and make choices to optimize it knowing that this is the one set of rules that my farm will ever be beholden to. If I have to wait a while until the game is finished, that is fine.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 6 days ago (2 children)

    AAA games get updates that change gameplay slightly all the time. Why is Stardew Valley unique in this to you?

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  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago (1 child)

    I've also been frustrated by the experience of games I've paid for changing into something else with no possibility of getting my money back. I wish developers would release games as early access if they're not finished working on them, so people who don't want this could avoid it.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago

    From what I understand, Steam refunds are pretty relaxed with this. Even if you are outside of the automatic "no questions asked" two-week return window (or whatever it is for Steam), I have heard that if you explain in your refund request that an update changed the game in a significant enough way that it has ruined the gameplay for you, the Steam representative reviewing the request tends to approve the refund.

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