For fans of cozy gaming, there is no more anticipated game than ConcernedApe’s Haunted Chocolatier. The first confirmed title after his mega-hit Stardew Valley, Haunted Chocolatier has been shrouded in mystery ever since its reveal in 2020, with occasional blog posts and updates giving a small peek behind the development curtain. Given the universal praise and love given to Stardew Valley, Haunted Chocolatier has a lot of expectations riding on it.
Eric Barone, otherwise known by his developer alias ConcernedApe, has been hard at work on both Stardew Valley updates and the creation of Haunted Chocolatier for years. This upcoming title is visually very similar to Stardew Valley, with its charming pixel art style and a cozy, but more mysterious, atmosphere. With the game still likely years away, here is everything players know so far about Haunted Chocolatier, including its setting, gameplay, and even some romanceable characters.
What is Haunted Chocolatier about?
ConcernedApe hasn’t revealed too much about his upcoming title, though he did give a short description of the game on the official website. In Haunted Chocolatier, “you will play as a chocolatier living in a haunted castle. In order to thrive in your new role, you will have to gather rare ingredients, make delicious chocolates, and sell them in a chocolate shop.” Beyond this basic premise, various blog post updates and interviews throughout the years have filled in some of the gaps on what players can expect.
According to the trailer, players will move into a new – currently unnamed – town after leaving the big city. There, they’ll build relationships with the locals (which includes romancing) and slash their way through enemies while collecting ingredients. As per the title, there will be some supernatural and spooky elements, like ghosts helping around the store, but ConcernedApe noted in his annoncement blog that the game will be “positive, uplifting and life-affirming” despite some ghoulish features.
What will Haunted Chocolatier’s gameplay be like?
Haunted Chocolatier, like Stardew Valley, will combine exploration, relationship building, resource management, and combat into one cozy single-player experience. The whole cast of characters living in the small town hasn’t been revealed, but a few characters like Nigel the barkeep and Burk the blacksmith have been spotted in the first trailer. While not too much has been shown for game content, blog posts have revealed that the combat system will be much more in depth than it is in Stardew Valley, as ConcernedApe stated, “Haunted Chocolatier has a greater focus on combat.”
A more recent blog post from early 2025 also revealed an “intuitive process to make chocolates” in the game. While ConcernedApe explained that nothing that’s coded into a game can be truly intuitive, he did elaborate on how Haunted Chocolatier will allow players to go about making their chocolate through multiple methods, stating “one process might be more “whimsical”, and another process might be more mechanical.”
Haunted Chocolatier release date
Unfortunately, Haunted Chocolatier has no set release date and excited fans shouldn’t hold their breath. Despite working on the game for years, ConcernedApe has been simultaneously working on Stardew Valley updates and other projects which have likely delayed the development of the new title.
Haunted Chocolatier was first announced in late 2020 and is being developed solely by ConcernedApe.
Confirmation of the long process came on an episode of the podcast TigerBelly, when host Bobby Lee asked if Haunted Chocolatier would come out in the next five years, to which ConcernedApe said “I hope so, I mean, that’s the goal.” With that in mind, players can safely assume Haunted Chocolatier isn’t coming out in the next few years, despite its highly anticipated status.
Haunted Chocolatier platforms
Like Stardew Valley, only a PC version of Haunted Chocolatier has been announced for its initial release. However, the official website’s FAQ does mention that ConcernedApe intends on porting the game onto other major platforms.
