Stardew Valley creator ignites new fan theories with five simple words: 'Here's a Haunted Chocolatier screen'

Between a glowing Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty review wave and free, foundational changes in the 2.0 update, CDPR has finally made good on its troubled RPG's years-old promises.

It looks like The Elder Scrolls 6 won't be releasing until 2026 at the very earliest, and our PlayStation pals are likely going to be missing out entirely.

It might be indulgently silly, but I — and many others in the Stardew Valleycommunity — have a years-long obsession with one particular bed. It’s not some rare item with a low drop rate, nor does it have any special powers. I’m talking about Grandpa’s bed, which is shown in the early cutscenes of the game.

One of the biggest draws about Starfield is the number of planets you can explore. It’s not so much an open-world game as it is more of an open-galaxy title. With that, you might understandably want these giant balls of rock to look their best. That’s where the modding community comes into its own.

With millions of players having already jumped right into the thick of it with Starfield, it’s hard to deny the fact that a non-insignificant number of them are facing performance issues on powerful PC hardware. When the director Todd Howard was asked about these issues, he responded in a way that some might say was tone-deaf. Notably, he said that Starfield was optimized and that some PC gamers might simply need to upgrade their rigs for it to run properly. A bold statement, to be sure, but one that may also ring hollow following some strange discoveries from the open-source community.

Modders have already been getting busy in Starfield, rolling out both useful changes, and things that are just a bit of fun. One such fun mod has replaced all of the United Colonies’ guards in New Atlantis with Stormtroopers, which is something I think we can all say we saw coming. 

Starfield has you spending plenty of time in your spaceships, so it’s worth investing some time into making them as capable as possible. Some players have grown quite attached to their ships, and it’s not a surprise, as the game gives you the freedom to customize them as you please. If you’re sufficiently ambitious and have the imagination for it, some incredibly impressive ships can be made, including the Imperial Star Destroyer from Star Wars.

This has to be one of the weirdest bugs I've seen squashed in recent driver release notes: some players with Intel Arc graphics may have noticed that characters in Starfield had their eyebrows blown off their face when using previous driver versions. The latest driver, version 31.0.101.4676, brings them back.

Starfield is officially out, and modders have been working hard creating helpful add-ons, from useful, quality-of-life mods such as revamping the inventory UI to unofficially adding support for DLSS. Others have added more cosmetic things like reskin in-game clothes. And then there are some people out there who keep modding Bethesda's Todd Howard into the game.

Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone - better known as ConcernedApe - has been quietly working away on the follow-up to his wildly popular and beloved farming game since at least the end of 2021. Given that secrecy and Stardew’s enormous following, it’s perhaps little surprise that a single cryptic screenshot from Haunted Chocolatier has immediately sparked fervent theories about its possible connection to Barone’s previous game.

Stardew Valley creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone has revealed a new screen from his upcoming game The Haunted Chocolatier, which has some fans convinced a beloved Stardew Valley character is set to make an appearance in the highly anticipated confectionery store simulator.

September promises to be a blockbuster month for gaming, with a stellar lineup of heavy hitters set to release this month. Kicking off the show is Starfield, Bethesda's epic sci-fi space fantasy RPG, which has been in development for eight years, apparently. The studio's first original IP in 25 years, Starfield, as director Todd Howard puts it, is essentially Skyrim in space. Hundreds of hours of spacefaring adventure await, with a side helping of nostalgic Bethesda style. The game is out now on PC and Xbox Series S/X. It's also a big month for RPGs, as CD Projekt Red's much-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 expansion hits the shelves on September 26. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty promises a ton of upgrades from the base game, including an overhauled skill tree, a new wanted system, and gameplay tweaks. There's a brand new story, too, with Idris Elba joining the cast, and Keanu Reeves returning.