As of January 28, 2025, the latest major update for Stardew Valley is Version 1.6, released on November 4, 2024. This update introduces a wealth of new content, quality-of-life improvements, and technical enhancements. Here’s a comprehensive overview:
New Content
- Meadowlands Farm: A new farm layout focusing on open spaces, ideal for players who prefer extensive farming areas. WIRED
- Festivals:
- Spring Blossom Festival: A three-day event celebrating the arrival of spring with unique activities and rewards.
- Mini-Festivals: Two additional smaller festivals have been added, offering new interactions and items. WIRED
- Items and Customization:
- Over 280 New Furniture Pieces: Enhance your farmhouse and farm with a variety of new furniture options.
- Pet Hats: Dress up your pets with new hat accessories. WIRED
Quality-of-Life Improvements
- Lost Items Shop: Located in the Secret Woods, this shop allows players to repurchase unique items that were accidentally lost, such as the Stardew Hero Trophy and Emily’s Magic Boots. Polygon
- Item Retrieval: Items dropped into water will now float temporarily, providing an opportunity for retrieval. Polygon
- Inventory Sorting: Colored items, like flowers, now sort by color, preventing random reordering during inventory sorting. stardewvalley.net
- Fish Ponds: These now display the number of items ready for collection, streamlining resource management. stardewvalley.net
Technical Enhancements
- Performance Optimizations: Updates to audio and input systems, including migration from FAudio to OpenAL and updating SDL to version 2.30.4, aim to improve game performance and stability. stardewvalley.net
- Save System: The game now auto-recovers from backups if a save file is detected as corrupted, reducing the risk of data loss. stardewvalley.net
Multiplayer Updates
- Expanded Multiplayer: The update increases the maximum number of players in a multiplayer session to seven, enhancing cooperative gameplay. WIRED
- Experimental Mobile Multiplayer: An experimental multiplayer feature has been added to the mobile version, allowing players to connect via IP addresses over local Wi-Fi or hotspots. Accessing this mode requires a specific sequence of taps on the title screen. Due to potential bugs and platform limitations, players are advised to proceed with caution. Polygon
For a detailed breakdown of all changes and additions, you can refer to the official Stardew Valley 1.6 Update Changelog.
This substantial update reflects the developer’s ongoing commitment to enriching the Stardew Valley experience, providing both new content and improvements that cater to a wide range of player preferences.
