Stardew Valley For Nintendo Switch Moves One Step Closer To Launch

After being announced last year, Stardew Valley's Nintendo Switch port is now another step closer to actually launching. Publisher Chucklefish's CEO, Finn Brice, stated on Twitter that the version has been "approved," and that the company is "working on finalizing a release date."

Just last month, Chucklefish said it doesn't generally announce release dates until "quite close to launch, when we are at least 95% certain that nothing will go terribly terribly wrong." That the company is now "finalizing" a release date must therefore mean the game is not far off launching.

All versions of Stardew Valley will receive a new multiplayer mode in 2018. Once it releases, players will be able to build up to three cabins on their farms, each of which can house a friend. These players will be able to do almost anything the main player can, including mining, foraging, taking part in festivals, and getting married.

Chucklefish says it hopes to begin beta testing the multiplayer mode on Steam at the end of the year. It plans to release the update in full on PC in early 2018 and will bring it to Switch and other consoles after that.

Stardew Valley originally launched for PC in February, 2016, and was subsequently released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One last November. In our Stardew Valley review, we awarded the RPG a 9/10. Critic Mary Kish wrote: "The sheer number of things to accomplish in Stardew Valley can keep you interested beyond the original three in-game years you need to reach the end of your story--you may just want to start over rather than continue on."