New Haunted Chocolatier Image Hints at Stardew Valley Connection

A new screenshot from Haunted Chocolatier has been revealed by ConcernedApe, and it already has Stardew Valley fans buzzing! The image in question features an old man waking up in his bed after having "the most terrible dream." The character's name is represented by three questions marks at the moment, but a lot of Stardew Valley fans are under the impression that this is the same character as the Grandpa that gifts players their farm. That character is dead of course, but some are speculating that this is Grandpa in the afterlife, or that Haunted Chocolatier could be a prequel to Stardew Valley!

The image from Haunted Chocolatier can be found in the Tweet embedded below.

here's a haunted chocolatier screne pic.twitter.com/bCVy3NJaMS

— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) September 5, 2023

What is Haunted Chocolatier?

The next game from Stardew Valley creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone, Haunted Chocolatier was announced back in 2021. As its name implies, Haunted Chocolatier is a game that puts players in charge of a confectionary store, and they'll also have to deal with ghosts. Like Stardew Valley, ConcernedApe is handling all aspects of development. After sharing the game's new screenshot, ConcernedApe responded to comments from a few fans. ConcernedApe is bouncing back and forth between developing Haunted Chocolatier and working on Stardew Valley's 1.6 update. Stardew Valley fans should be happy to know that the latter is taking priority at the moment. However, the developer is apparently "sitting on a lot of screenshots that I could share," and just felt like showcasing one for fans to admire! 

When is Haunted Chocolatier coming out?

As of this writing, Haunted Chocolatier does not have any sort of release window, so fans are just going to have to wait to learn more. In one Twitter reply, ConcernedApe thanked fans for their patience, noting "I don't want any pressure." Most fans seemed to be pretty respectful of that, while still noting their excitement for the developer's next title. Video game development takes a lot of time, and hopefully the finished results will prove worth the wait!

Haunted Chocolatier's Stardew Valley Connection

Whether or not this Haunted Chocolatier character is Grandpa from Stardew Valley remains to be seen. However, ConcernedApe has previously indicated that there would be some kind of connection between the two games. In a Tweet from June 2022, the developer stated that "I haven't decided how deep the connection will be exactly," before noting that he wants the game to have an identity of its own. A year later, we don't know much more than that, but clearly that mystery has deepened with the release of this new screenshot. It's possible ConcernedApe could reveal more of those screenshots he's sitting on, and if he does, maybe we'll learn a little more about the connections between these games! 

Are you looking forward to Haunted Chocolatier? Do you think that this is the Grandpa from Stardew Valley? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!