Upcoming Stardew Valley Multiplayer Patch Lets You Woo Your Friends

Running a farm in Stardew Valley is hard work, especially since you're expected to do most of your chores by yourself. Sure, your spouse may decide to lend a hand once in a while, but more often than not they're content to fill up the cat's water bowl and declare they've done a hard day's work.

Fret ye not, Stardew Valley farmers: Your burden will soon be eased. Earlier today, the official Stardew Valley blog updated with news about the upcoming multiplayer feature.

Co-operation, makes it hap-pen. Co-operation, working together (dig it!).

Here's a quick summary of what you can expect when the patch (1.3) lands on Windows, Mac, and Linux in 2018:

Early in the game, Robin will offer to build up to three cabins on your farmland. These are where your "farmhand" friends will live.
Farmhands can do almost anything the main player can, including fight, fish, mine, marry NPCs, and take part in festivals. However, the host player is the only one who can make certain important decisions, e.g. when to sleep, when to end festivals, and whether to side with Joja Corp.
You can invite friends into your game via Steam. An invitation method for non-Steam versions of the game is currently in the works.
Player-to-player marriage will be possible! However, the mermaid pendant won't be involved. Chucklefish will reveal more info on how players can woo each other at a later date.
Local multiplayer, split-screen play, and PvP aren't planned at this point. I kind of wanted to attack my friends with a pick axe, but I guess I'll get over it.

Multiplayer is coming to console versions of the game, too, starting with the Nintendo Switch. Since retrofitting multiplayer into a game that was intended to be single-player is a massive undertaking, it's going to take some time before the new patch is done. A beta for Steam users is planned for the end of the year, and the patch should be ready early in 2018.