Get ready for Stardew Valley 1.6!

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Grab your watering can and don your favourite straw hat, because Stardew Valley's long-anticipated 1.6 update is just around the corner! The massive update not only adds a bunch of new content to the game but also makes some fundamental changes behind the scenes that will impact your mods.


What's new in Stardew Valley 1.6?

There are a massive number of features, improvements and bug fixes in 1.6. The image below - posted by ConcernedApe on Twitter - mentions some of the upcoming changes. 




A host of extra features and quality-of-life improvements are also included, such as:

  • Hats for cats and dogs!
  • Home renovations now have a purchase price, which is refunded if you undo the renovation.
  • A new re-drawn world map which is more detailed and better matches the game world.
  • The world map now shows the position of all players in real time.
  • You no longer lose the Golden Scythe, Infinity weapons or tools when dying.

The full list of changes won't be available until 1.6 drops. However, here's a list of the changes in the alpha version for mod authors. The final release will have many other changes that aren't listed there (like the ones mentioned above).


When is Stardew Valley 1.6 releasing? 

As announced on Twitter, Stardew Valley's latest update will be available to PC players on Tuesday 19 March 2024. Console and mobile players will see the same update sometime after this. 

You can get a reminder when the release date is approaching by using the "Set Reminder" option on this handy calendar event. A similar event has been added to our official Discord server too if you prefer being reminded there. 


Is this the modpocalypse?

This is a slightly tongue-in-cheek reference to our collective tendency to overreact to every breaking change for every game, but this time there is - unfortunately - going to be some short-term pain. A considerable chunk of mods will be broken in Stardew Valley 1.6 until the mod authors can update them. It's not great news, but we can weather the storm together and when we come out the other side we'll have a much healthier modding ecosystem ushered in by the huge long-term improvements to modding contained in the 1.6 release. Several mod authors have already started preparing (or even sharing) their 1.6 compatible updates. 

It's not all doom and gloom though. According to the latest SMAPI data, around 44% of 1.5.6 compatible C# mods are already compatible with 1.6 and many content packs will work as soon as the framework they rely on is updated. On top of this SMAPI and Content Patcher's compatibility rewrites mean many old mods will continue working even if they're not updated by the author.


As a mod author, how can I prepare for this update?

Pathoschild has been working hard to make the update experience as seamless as possible between 1.5 and 1.6 for mod authors. SMAPI and the Content Patcher will offer limited re-writing of mods on the fly for compatibility but due to the fundamental changes to core game functionality, it's quite likely that your mods shared for 1.5 will not work with 1.6 without an update. 

Fortunately, the process to update your mods is very straightforward. C# mods and Content Packs can be updated by following the handy-dandy migration guide. Just make sure you remember to bump the version number in your manifest.json. 

If your mod is a content pack that uses a framework other than Content Patcher, you should check the documentation for the framework mod to see if any migrations are necessary. 

For authors who intend to update their mods, but don't have time right now we suggest putting a note in either your description or pinned comments to that effect to help offset the flood of questions about the update from users. 

Once you've got a 1.6-compatible version of your mod uploaded, please add the "Version 1.6 Compatible" tag to your mod page, then users can find your mod by filtering by this tag


How can I quickly find out which mods are 1.6-ready?

When browsing mods, you can filter by the "Version 1.6 Compatible" tag, which we're asking mod authors to add to their pages when they've been updated. For C# mods, you can also check the SMAPI Mod Compatibility List

Many old mods will continue working even without an update, so we've also added a "Broken in Version 1.6" tag which mod authors can add (or mod users can vote onto a page) to help identify mods that don't work yet. If there's no information about the mod you're looking at, you can simply give it a try and see if it works. 


My favourite mod hasn't been updated yet, what can I do?

Remember, if the mod author hasn't had a chance to update their mod yet and there's no indication on their page about their plans, let's approach them with respect when asking about updates. Mod authors pour their hearts into their creations and generously share them with the community for free. While we eagerly await updates, it's important to keep in mind that we aren't entitled to a particular level of quality or immediate response to game updates. Let's continue to appreciate the amazing work they do!

Many open-source mods will be updated unofficially. These updates will be listed on the SMAPI Mod Compatibility List and show up in the SMAPI console window when starting the game. 


As a user, can I stop my setup from updating to 1.6?

To keep playing your game on 1.5, you'll want to back up your existing installation and/or stop your game store from automatically updating your game. As Stardew Valley is a DRM-free game on all platforms, it's quite easy to back it up.

  • Locate your game folder (this is usually called "Stardew Valley")
  • Copy the entire Stardew Valley folder and name the copy something like "Stardew Valley 1.5.6".
  • Start the game from the StardewModdingAPI.exe file inside that folder. If you're using Vortex, Stardrop or any other mod manager you need to update the game path used by the app. 


To turn off game updates on GOG, Steam or Xbox Game Pass, see this forum post.


Now get back out there, those fields aren't going to tend themselves! 

40 comments

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  1. Krkifbhcjjdjf
    Krkifbhcjjdjf
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    When 1.6 update will come on phones.🤔
    1. arinourii
      arinourii
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      updates for mobile take way longer to come out due to the different engine and because of the limited capacity of a phone compared to a computer/console. theres no confirmed date but concernedape will announce when he starts working in the mobile update. he's probably working on consoles right now.
    2. puppy191
      puppy191
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      quq
  2. BunnyWabbit88
    BunnyWabbit88
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    So, is there any way to get the 1.5.6 data after the game has updated...? Or is my game royally messed up now? I wasn't aware that it auto-updated and now I've got the 1.6 version. And I didn't even get to use all of my mods due to having to put in some work to even access some of them. I only just recently bought the game and watched youtube videos to get mods. So, I wasn't aware of auto-updates and the inability to go back to previous versions.
    1. foify
      foify
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      Yo if you roll back to the legacy client and roll smapi back to match the client it seems to work with all the mods. 
    2. arinourii
      arinourii
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      if you want to use most of the mods, especially in this period where the update came not too long ago, you should use the "legacy_1.5.6" beta branch in Steam and SMAPI 3.18.6. If you want to play in 1.6 with mods, go to smapi.io/mods and look at the compatibility of the mods you want to use (if it says "SDV 1.6 only: â†» broken, not updated yet.", then it won't work in 1.6), and download SMAPI 4.0.0
    3. BunnyWabbit88
      BunnyWabbit88
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      It worked! Thank you SO much!!!
  3. Nekogirl1412
    Nekogirl1412
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    Does anyone know why smapi does't work now on the steam deck? I am trying to update it on my steam deck but the windows installer says my antivirus deleted a couple of files : SMAPI.INSTALLER.dill and SMAPI.INSTALLER.exe, can anyone help me out? I would love some help on how to properly UPDATE smapi on the steam deck as I can't seem to find any good video guides on what to do 
  4. Wafflestart
    Wafflestart
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    Probably already discussed here but in case it wasnt
    For those that dont want to lose access to their 1.5 mods on steam (due to them breaking in 1.6), in the properties-> Betas theres a legacy ver of 1.5.6
  5. chuuchee
    chuuchee
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    estoy deseando probar la nueva version pero no la encuentro por ningun lado! Sabe alguien donde puedo actualizar mi juego (gratis)?
    Does anyone know where can i actualize to version 1.6 (or get it) for free?
    1. arinourii
      arinourii
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      ¡Hola! ¡La piratería es un crimen! ¡No hagas eso (especialmente con desarrolladores independientes)! ¡espero que esto ayude!
  6. yashiimii
    yashiimii
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    hi all. I just recently started delving into Stardew Valley mods, and some of the mods haven't been updated since 2022. what to do about it?
    1. arinourii
      arinourii
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      if you still wanna play in 1.5.6, most mods are still compatible with this version independent of their latest update i think. but for 1.6 theres a 99% chance of them being broken
  7. Moogledoll
    Moogledoll
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    I hope someone adds in an updated skip fishing minigame mod, scull cavern elevator, and auto craft. The only 3 mods I use and now useless lol
    1. arinourii
      arinourii
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      skull cavern elevator still works!! im using it just fine in 1.6
  8. cornelia34280
    cornelia34280
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     yes !! mais je vais attendre la mise Ă  jour sur console , je ne veux pas perdre tout les mods installĂ©s , surtout que je les fonctionne configurĂ© il y'a peu mdr
  9. zozeeky
    zozeeky
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    sucks i wouldve prefered no new outfits or a toggleable option, gonna break so many portrait mods
  10. WatcherCCG
    WatcherCCG
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    RIP genderswaped bachelor mods, it looks like. New outfits means portrait mods in general are gonna break if they're abandoned.
    1. pugulongtime
      pugulongtime
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      good