Stardew Valley Marks 10th Anniversary With New Marriage Options

Stardew Valley is officially blowing out the candles on its tenth-anniversary cake this Thursday (yes, dear reader, we are getting old), and to celebrate a decade of farming and friendship, creator Eric Barone, better known as ConcernedApe, shared a special video looking back at the game’s incredible trajectory so far.

It is a pretty emotional retrospective, showcasing almost everything related to the development, from early footage of Sprout Valley (its original prototype) to the first iterations of the mines and even some fascinating scrapped content, such as an underground goblin village.

Barone also gives fans a glimpse into his personal history, sharing pictures of his modest setup where he spent years bringing the world of Stardew Valley to life – and it is quite the gamer cave.

Clint and Sandy Join the Battle!

The anniversary video wasn’t only focused on the past, but also gave a lovely glimpse into new features for the highly anticipated Update 1.7.

During its final three minutes, the special’s tone shifted from nostalgia to the future as Barone starts talking about what’s to come in Stardew Valley. While he made it clear he doesn't want to give too much away just yet, he confirmed that it is finally time for two long-requested characters to become romanceable: Clint and Sandy. “It’s their time!”, Barone exclaims in the video.

For those who need a refresher, Clint is Pelican Town’s local blacksmith, while Sandy manages the Oasis shop in the Calico Desert. Both have been fan-favorite NPCs for years, and their promotion to full marriage candidates is something the community has been clamoring for since the early days! So yes, you can already start preparing your wedding clothes.

It is worth remembering that, beyond the new romances, Update 1.7 is confirmed to also include a brand-new farm type and a long-overdue overhaul for the game’s family system, since the solo developer revealed recently that he was “trying to make the children a bit more interesting.” So we will probably hear more about that soon!

To wrap things up, Barone closed the video with a very heartfelt thank you to the players, modders, other developers, merchandising companies, and pretty much everyone who has supported the Stardew Valley journey somehow over the last decade.

"I just wanted to say thank you so much for supporting Stardew Valley over the past 10 years, for all the mods, the fan art, all the letters, and comments you've made to me," he said. "That's meant a lot to me, too. And it's really given me a lot of purpose in life. So I'm grateful to you for making this a reality for me."

You can check the entire video right below: