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Stardew Valley and more indies are coming to Xbox Game Pass

By Otto Kratky August 10, 2021

Today’s ID@Xbox stream was packed with indie games galore, but the highlight of the show came from Stardew Valley developer Concerned Ape. During an interview on the stream, Eric Barone, the sole developer of Stardew Valley announced that the game will be coming to Xbox Game Pass.

Stardew Valley was originally released in February 2016 but has since exploded in popularity. The game, heavily inspired by the Harvest Moon franchise, gives players a farm to call their own, and a small town to live in. The game is currently available on PC, Switch, PlayStation consoles, and Xbox consoles, and will arrive on Xbox Game Pass later this fall. A concrete release date for the game on Xbox’s subscription service was not announced.

Chopping down a tree in Stardew valley. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Along with Stardew Valley, a decent number of other indie titles are coming to Xbox Game Pass. Aragami 2 hits the service on September 17, Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous arrives on March 1, 2022, Evil Genius 2 is set to launch on Game Pass in fiscal Q4 of this year, and Pupperazi is rolling onto the service sometime soon.

The ID@Xbox stream wasn’t just about the indie games coming to Xbox Game Pass though. You can find a list of every game that appeared during today’s showcase down below.

Lightyear Frontier
Lab Rat
the Legend of Wright
OlliOlli World
Inked
Sam & Max Save The World Remastered
Aeon Drive
The Big Con
The Vale: Shadow of the Crown
Aragami 2
Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous
Pupperazi
Evil Genius 2
Stardew Valley
Library of Aruna
Spacelines from the Far Out
The Artful Escape

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Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…

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Is Stardew Valley cross-platform?

Stardew Valley Multiplayer Fishing

Stardew Valley is a game made by just one person, but it has seen more success than most games made by dozens, or even hundreds, of people. It's even one of Digital Trends' top 50 video games of all time. Since its release in 2016, the game has been updated regularly with new features and content to keep its avid fans coming back. This includes an online multiplayer component that allows you and up to three friends to hang out on each other's farms. And with the recent trend of games allowing players on different platforms to join together, you may wonder if Stardew Valley offers cross-platform functionality. Here's everything we know about cross-platform support in Stardew Valley.
Is Stardew Valley cross-platform?
Stardew Valley does not offer cross-platform support, meaning you can't play online multiplayer between any of the systems the game is on. So if you want to team up with some friends, make sure you all are playing on the same platform, such as the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, or PC. Also be aware that whoever starts a multiplayer game is saving that shared world locally, meaning no one else can reenter that world without the host present.

The sad fact of the matter is there doesn't seem to be any indication that crossplay will come to Stardew Valley. The game's official Reddit still lists it as not being supported, and there was only one mention of it by the developer on Twitter back in 2018, when he responded to a question asking if crossplay would come to the game. He replied, "Unfortunately, there will not be crossplay. Apparently, the technical barriers are very high. It's still something I really want to add and I promise to look into it more closely, but first priority is getting the update out there." This was many years ago, and there has been no further information about cross-platform play since, so it seems very unlikely that we will see support for this functionality come to Stardew Valley.