New information about Stardew Valley’s multiplayer mode has been released, giving us a better idea of how it will all work as well as when we can expect it.
One of the developers from Chuckefish, the publishers of Stardew Valley, posted some news about the farming simulator’s multiplayer function on the Stardew Valley official website.
Shortly after starting the game, a character named Robin will offer to build up to three cabins on the player’s farm. These cabins serve as homes to farmhands, characters that can be controlled by other players. As farmhands, players can do almost anything that the main player is able to do. Outside of farming, mining and fishing, farmhands are free to woo NPCs and take part in festivals as well. The main player does have control over certain things such as sleeping and the start or end of festivals. Each player will also have their own inventory. When a farmhand is absent, their inventory is placed in a chest in their cabin. Players will even be free to marry other players, requiring they perform a task different to what’s required to marry NPCs.
Stardew Valley’s multiplayer is being planned to launch next year on Windows, Mac and Linux with its 1.3 update. PC players won’t need to set up their own servers to run multiplayer as it can all be done through Steam. A multiplayer beta test will also be run through Steam at the end of 2017. Multiplayer will be introduced to the console versions of Stardew Valley through a patch due in 2018. The Nintendo Switch version of the game will be the first console to offer the new mode of play.
Stardew Valley is currently available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The Nintendo Switch version is still in development with no exact release date available. More information about the game’s upcoming multiplayer mode can be found here.
