Stardew Valley creator reveals a new and very important addition coming in the 1.6 update: 'Hats on cats (and dogs)'

(Image credit: Eric Barone (Twitter))

Stardew Valley's 1.6 update was supposed to be a relatively small thing, intended primarily to make life easier for modders rather than approaching the size of the feature-packed 1.5 update that once seemed like it would be Stardew Valley's send-off. 1.6 has grown significantly in scope since then, to include things like "a major new festival," new late-game content, new items and crafting recipes, and support for eight-person multiplayer on Steam. But now creator Eric Barone has teased what is undoubtedly the most important part of the update, and it can be summed up in five words: "Hats on cats."

"(And dogs.)"

The tease was delivered with Barone's traditional Twitter simplicity: An image of two cats and two dogs, all festooned in various sorts of tasteful headgear. "Hats on cats (and dogs)," Barone wrote. And that's it.

Of course, that was all that was needed to set the hearts of Stardew fans aflutter. "This is the greatest moment in gaming history," facial6lock tweeted. Another, plain_cheeri0s, shared similar sentiments, tweeting, "This is life changing." And they weren't alone in that feeling: "Not to be dramatic but this just changed my life," vixella wrote.

Twitter reactions to Eric Barone's Stardew Valley: Hats on cats (and dogs) tweet — (Image credit: Twitter)

Re-Logic vice president and Terraria game designer Whitney "Cenx" Spinks was actually inspired by the image to offer Barone a quid pro quo exchange. "If you DM me the release date for 1.6 I will tell you the release date for 1.4.5," she tweeted, referring to Terraria's upcoming 1.4.5 patch, which—in a very Stardew-like situation—will be the latest update to follow multiple previous "final" updates to the game.

If you dm me the release date for 1.6 I will tell you the release date for 1.4.5. 🤪 — (Image credit: Cenx (Twitter))

Even the official Xbox account got in on the action.

This. This is the content we love to see. — (Image credit: Microsoft (Twitter))

Barone did not state explicitly that the pet headgear is for Stardew Valley, and a few people on Twitter asked whether this might be a tease for his next game, Haunted Chocolatier—he recently dropped a few images from that game too, and they understandably bear a similar visual vibe. But the animals in the images are clearly from Stardew Valley, and the general consensus is that this is part (the best part) of the 1.6 update.

Alas, Barone still hasn't even hinted at any kind of proper release date for the update. Hopefully if Cenx finds out, she'll let us know.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.