Eric Barone forming team for Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley developer Eric Barone has been working on the game entirely by himself since he began it in 2011. However, that's about to change.

In a post to the game's official blog today, Barone announced he would be putting together a team to support Stardew Valley going forward. The announcement comes alongside the title's switch to a self-published game on all platforms except mobile and Nintendo Switch just today.

Barone said in his post that he currently is working on a new solo title, but has had to put it on hold due to the need to focus on Stardew Valley updates. Though he says he would like to work on both simultaneously, he does not have time to do so, and would like to keep maintaining Stardew Valley long-term. Barone is planning that the next update to the game will be the title's final solo update, with future updates having a team's involvement.

"This is going to be a big change for me...I've always worked alone, and working with a team is a whole new ballgame," Barone said. "However, just as I did with Stardew Valley originally, I'm just gonna go for it, and have faith that I can rise to the occasion and make it work. My hope is that the new team will help take some of the workload off me, so I have enough breathing room to divide my time between my new game and Stardew Valley.

"I still plan on having a very active role in the future of Stardew Valley, and the originator of all major Stardew Valley decisions and content. And there are many aspects of development which I'll never be okay with handing over to another, like music or writing. But when it comes to programming, fixing bugs, administrative/business work, or even pixel art...I think I'd be okay with having some help."