Excitement for the Stardew Valley 10th anniversary festivities began last year when creator Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone revealed his plans for another farm-sim update, but today is the game's actual big milestone. It's officially been a decade since Stardew Valley launched on February 26, 2016—can you believe it?
The realization has turned me to dust, but I'm handling it. Stardew Valley fans mostly seem to be in the same boat, delighting in the day's update news, event plans, and celebratory merch. I originally planned to ignore that last bit, but there's a Pelican Town desk mat, and I'm weak.
Stardew Valley 10th Anniversary video
Stardew Valley's retrospective and new marriage candidates
We knew Barone had a special reveal planned for the day, but just before the farming sim's birthday, he announced the Stardew Valley anniversary retrospective. Most of the 23-minute video is a quick timeline chronicling various iterations of the game before and after launch, but Barone ended the tribute with a reveal:
You'll be able to marry Clint and Sandy in the Stardew Valley 1.7 update.
Barone's cheeky announcement starts around the 20-minute mark, where you'll see him dramatically tear open an envelope to reveal his handwritten "Clint & Sandy" sign.
It's an endearing half-hour with the Stardew Valley creator as he talks through some of his development journey, and it's just nice to see someone so earnest and excited over their next big thing. Farming diehards may know most of the developer stories from the lookback, but I'd never heard of Stardew Valley's 'underground goblin village' that was scrapped before launch. Eric, I think we should revisit that idea.
Stardew Valley 10th Anniversary: Symphony of Seasons
Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons plans its grand finale
There's also a special date planned for the Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons concert series. The one-off anniversary performance will take place at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on October 25, 2026, with ticket sales starting on March 2 at 10 am MT.
Symphony of Seasons is where Barone made his 1.7 update announcement, so I could see why hungry Stardew players would keep the show on their radar.
The anniversary concert will add a little extra fanfare, too. Outside of just the musical arrangements, the Symphony of Seasons grand finale includes playable Journey of the Prairie King arcade machines, photo zones, and an art gallery of fan work. That arcade game is my in-universe Stardew nemesis, but the rest sounds cute enough.
Stardew Valley 10th Anniversary merch
I'm replacing my current desk mat with a Pelican Town map
And here's where I thought I would be safe, but alas, I am weak. I gave in to impulse and bought the Stardew Valley desk mat. In my defense, all the merch I have from the farming sim is well-made and awfully cute. Also, a desk mat is a practical buy, right? Like, instead of tapping the 'M' key, I can just... move my keyboard to the side, look at the map, then move my keyboard back.
I can't speak to the quality just yet, but the $28 desk mat is available on Fangamer. I'm trying to abstain from the blanket, though I think it's a fair PC Gamer work expense. I get cold at my desk, and can only be warmed by a $45 videogame throw.
More on the Stardew Valley 10th Anniversary
Aside from the official announcements, we've also been celebrating the Stardew Valley anniversary in our own way on PC Gamer. I published our first Stardew Valley quiz (and have more planned), while my colleagues penned a few tributes and other stories worth checking out.
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