Chucklefish has launched the multiplayer beta for Stardew Valley.
The new multiplayer-focused beta was released alongside the base game’s 1.3 update. Fans can have up to four players join a session via Steam and/or LAN via a host farm/player’s single-player save.
To join the beta, you’ll have to go through a few steps:
- Log into your Steam account and go to your Games Library
- Right click on Stardew Valley
- Select Properties –> Betas
- Enter the Beta access code “jumpingjunimos” and hit “Check Code”
- Upon completion, select the beta branch option on the Beta selection drop down menu
- If you run into any issues, email the devs at [email protected]
The game can scale difficulty pending the number of players by altering profit margins, so you can offset the increased number of hands in your production. There’s also a chat box and a custom emoji suite (with 200 custom Stardew Valley emojis).
The new update also has the option for accompanying players to romance the NPCs, or marry other players. If you get angry or bored of your helper(s) or spouse, you can also divorce them or ban them by destroying their cabin(s).
As with any beta, Chucklefish suggests backing up your save files to your main single-player game from the %APPDATA%\StardewValley\Saves on Windows directory or ~/.config/StardewValley/Saves for Mac and Linux. They also note removing any mods, as they have full compatibility planned. The other versions of the game will get the multiplayer update, but at a later date.
The single-player 1.3 update includes new features like hats for horses, new character events via cutscenes, and a new three-day travel-focused Winter festival.
In related news, Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone is already working on his next game.
Stardew Valley is currently available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. In case you missed it, you can find my review for Stardew Valley here (I highly recommend it).
