Stardew Valley Creator Comments on Controversial Infinity Nikki Collab

Eric Barone, the one-man development team behind Stardew Valley, is standing behind his decision to enter into a controversial collaboration effort with action-adventure game Infinity Nikki. Stardew Valley‘s long history of player-driven free updates has helped make Barone one of the most popular indie developers in the world, and fans’ negative reaction to the recently announced collaboration marks a rare moment of negative press for him.

Stardew Valley’s success story is one that few other independent game developers could ever dream of replicating. Originally developed by Barone as a recreational side project, the farming and life simulator has reportedly sold more than 41 million copies since its original PC launch in 2016, and its popularity has led Barone into full-time game development, as he is currently working on his second big game, Haunted Chocolatier.

Stardew Valley Creator Stands By Infinity Nikki Crossover Decision

But the farming game has found itself embroiled in controversy after fans expressed displeasure with a collaboration between Stardew Valley and Infinity Nikki, which many players of the latter game see as a distraction from problems that have been present since late April. These issues include heavy monetization of the free-to-play game’s gacha system, story retconning, and performance issues, and they have been compounded by the developer’s perceived censorship of critics. Now, Barone, better known to his fans as ConcernedApe, has defended his decision to enter into the partnership, stating via his personal Twitter account that he only agrees to collaborations for one of two reasons. According to his post, he only collaborates with games of which he is personally a fan, or “because I genuinely thought the players would like it.”

The crossover event is set to launch in Infinity Nikki on September 1 as part of the game’s 1.9 update. Infold Games isn’t being too forthcoming about the contents of the collaboration, prepping its players for “cozy surprises” and “a harvest of wonders.” A short trailer for the event, released on Infinity Nikki‘s Twitter page, hints that Stardew Valley‘s adorable Junimos may be involved, as the tiny forest spirits are seen harvesting crops on a pixelated Stardew Valley farm before one is magically transported into Infinity Nikki‘s much more realistic-looking world.

Barone’s post also hints that he may not be receiving any monetary compensation from the collaborative deal with Infinity Nikki. In the past, official Stardew Valley crossovers with other indie hits like Terraria and Balatro have garnered a lot of attention, but Barone states that he never receives any money for these collaborations, stating in the comments of his post that he has no desire to make money from collaborations and has earned enough from the sale of his own game. His post doesn’t mention Infinity Nikki by name and mentions collaborations in the past tense, but it implies that he’s entered into this most recent deal for free as well.