Smash indie hit Stardew Valley was a rare game that, upon its release, both felt like it filled a precise niche and created that very niche into which it so satisfyingly fit. Solo developer ConcernedApe started with what could have been a perfectly good Harvest Moon-inspired 2D farming game, were it to have only entailed farming, and from there managed to incorporate rewarding dungeon crawling, relationship building and town management mechanics, in addition to a multitude of other systems.
Given the game's originality and ensuing success, it's no surprise that ConcernedApe has just announced, in a widely-shared tweet, his intention to tie two upcoming projects into the Stardew Valley universe.
His post includes an important caveat—the existence of two in-progress games that take place in the same world as Stardew Valley in no way guarantees the eventual release of any Stardew Valley-related projects. ConcernedApe's tweet confirming their existence was simply a reply to a Twitter user by the name of @TtHGEQQwG6mduA2 and not intended as a promise to fans of a sequel in any official capacity. In a follow-up tweet, ConcernedApe specifies that he would rather create whatever games comes naturally to him. It just so happens that, as of now, two Stardew Valley-related games seem to have naturally manifested.
That said, as described in the initial, minorly internet-breaking Tweet, one planned sequel is a non-farming game that takes place in the same universe, while the other may or may not take place in the Stardew Valley-verse but will tie into his flagship title in some way, shape or form.
In an ensuing interview further detailing his current development projects, ConcernedApe specified that the lack of specifics was intentional. Without hype, he explains, it's easier to create something without external pressures or opinions, simply focusing on what he finds to work best. And as a solo developer, these ideas may take a while to manifest, with his initial prediction being sometime this decade—again, with no further specifics.
Stardew Valley sequel or not, whatever ConcernedApe's next project ends up being is pretty much guaranteed to be a big deal. Taking the time and care to make the best game he's capable of making, and not simply a fanservice-y return to a beloved game world, will only help ensure it's something special.
Source: ConcernedApe, Video Games Chronicle