The team behind the charming Stardew Valley title has just given fans a new sneak peek at the developmental progress for the next big update that will bring multiplayer to the game. We’ve known that the co-op feature would be arriving at some point for awhile now, but it looks like the crew over at Chucklefish are almost ready to begin player testing!

The creator that goes by ‘ConcernedApe’ just provided a friendly statement to players of the game alongside Chucklefish’s Tom Coxon. Now that the rough part of coding is wrapped up neatly and good to go, it’s time for some good ‘ol fashioned Quality Assurance testing and an upcoming beta period to make sure everything is working the way it is meant to. Here’s what he had to say in the latest site blog post:

As you may know, I’ve always worked solo on Stardew Valley. However,  for this multiplayer update I’ve had the help of Tom Coxon (of Chucklefish). He’s done all the network coding to turn Stardew Valley into a multiplayer game… truly an impressive feat, and one that would not be possible without his talent. He deserves a lot of credit for this — Thank you Tom!”

After the kind thanks, he then added an update on the actual progress itself, as well as a sneak peek at some of the new features:

Work on the new features is done, and we’ve sent all the new text off to be translated into the different languages. Meanwhile, we are working on bug fixes. Once we’ve received the translated text and integrated it back into the game, we’ll begin a serious QA phase involving thorough testing of all new features in both multiplayer and single player contexts. When that is finished, the update should be ready for a public beta.  I am still shooting for a spring release for the beta.

When the beta gets closer to launch, I’ll fill you guys in on more specifics as to how multiplayer will work, as well as a more complete list of the new features in the update.

I’ll also be sure to let you guys know as soon as we’ve determined a more concrete timetable for release.

For now, here’s a screenshot of the new signs in action:

Looks like everything is write on track, and Ape confirms that this will be a “game changer.” We can’t wait to see how this affects the overall player experience, especially when looking at how loved the title already is.

Stardew Valley is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. What are your thoughts on the Stardew Valley multiplayer update coming soon? What else would you like to see from the adorably addictive RPG? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below, and don’t forget to check out DFTG on Twitter for gaming and entertainment news live 24/7!