Stardew Valley 1.7: The farmer's almanac for key details and news on the next big update

Surprise, surprise—the Stardew Valley 1.7 update is making a ton of noise in the new year, and it just so happens the beloved farming sim celebrates its tenth anniversary soon. Try as he might, Stardew Valley creator Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone can't stay away from the farm life for very long, and I can't say that I blame him.

He's also tried to set expectations and doesn't want to stir "too much hype" before the timing is right, but that's just not possible. The people yearn for the farms, and it's sounding like 1.7 will be another big update. Between new farm types, flourishing romance, and whatever other 'social' changes entail, there's a lot to take stock of and speculate on, so here's everything we know about the Stardew Valley 1.7 update.

Is there a Stardew Valley 1.7 release date?

There's no release date for the Stardew Valley 1.7 update yet. Big updates for Stardew Valley are typically years apart, and though it feels like we just got the last major patch yesterday, version 1.6 launched in March 2024. In my defense, those extra 1.6x updates just kept coming.

Barone revealed his plans for another patch last year during the Stardew Valley Symphony of Seasons tour and followed up in a post on X: "There will be a Stardew Valley 1.7 update. No release date, no estimate. But it's happening."

As for the update's timeline and conflict with Haunted Chocolatier, don't worry about it. Barone said his simultaneous work on both games may conflict a little, "but not as much as you might think." He admits that maybe he should've waited to announce Haunted Chocolatier, but at least Stardew updates always deliver.

Stardew Valley 1.7 update details

Stardew Valley's next update adds two marriage candidates

Two new romances will arrive with the Stardew Valley 1.7 update, and the number of new singles is all we know for now. In an IGN interview, Barone said he would reveal more about them on the game's anniversary, which is February 26.

As it stands, Stardew Valley has 12 romanceable NPCs, and it's been that way for years. Shane and Emily weren't part of the original list of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, but Barone added them as options a few months after the game's launch. Stardew has never added a brand new NPC as a marriage candidate, so maybe the 1.7 plan is to have us smooch a villager we already know.

We've seen Stardew Valley mods for dating characters like the Wizard and Sandy, and my colleague Christopher Livingston humbly requests the option to romance Pam. I'm down to make it official with any of them, and Barone told us last year he has regrets about not fleshing out some of the farming sim's cast. Now sounds like the perfect time to make it right.

And if you're keeping track, there are a few other unmarried characters like Gus, Clint, Linus, Marnie, Lewis, and Willy.

Your children may aspire to do more than toddle about

Barone says he's "trying to make the children a little more interesting" in the Stardew Valley 1.7 update, and it's something players often ask for. And while I don't mind my cute little farm offspring simply toddling about as they do now, I can see how they're kind of boring.

Despite refining and perfecting many of the ideas found in its early farm sim inspirations, growing your family is mostly all the same. Maybe new family dynamics were what Barone had on his mind when he mentioned there would be "more character/social stuff" last year.

There's also a new farm type on the way

We'll also get a new farm type in Stardew Valley 1.7, but we don't know anything else about it for now. The farming sim already has eight sprawling maps, each with their own associated skill, though I'll never say no to more, and it's practically tradition for Barone to add another type with major updates.

Stardew Valley 1.7 unconfirmed features

DIY your own Stardew Valley farm map, maybe

The new farm type is a given, but Barone got a little more ambitious with details for future maps and also told IGN he'd like to add a farm map editor with options to share designs publicly.

I'm in way too deep with custom map mods myself, but I'd love to see more options for Stardew Valley vanilla. Who knows, maybe a map editor would offer more customization than I assume it would and let me get really in the weeds. Regardless, it's all still theoretical, and Barone preempted the whole idea with "I don't know if this will happen or not." Though he seems to have given it some real thought.

What else is in Stardew Valley's future?

I'm not surprised the guy behind one of the most successful games in the history of games is thinking about making a sequel, but he mentioned last year that a Stardew Valley 2 isn't out of the question—though it's not about the money. Barone just has a ton of ideas for Stardew, and it sounds like he's not ready to put them out to pasture just yet.