ConcernedApe

Biography

Eric Lorenz Barone ( bə-ROH-nee, born December 3, 1987), known professionally as ConcernedApe, is an American video game developer, designer, and composer. He is best known for independently developing the 2016 video game Stardew Valley. Working alone, Barone served as the game's sole designer, programmer, animator, artist, composer, and writer over four and a half years of development. As of February 2026, the game has sold more than 50 million copies, and is credited by several outlets with revitalizing the farming-simulation genre. He worked alone on updates to the game for several years after its release before recruiting a small team to assist him in 2019, and has continued to support the game while developing his next title, Haunted Chocolatier, a shop-management game announced in 2021. Stardew Valley received favorable reviews from critics and has won or been nominated for numerous industry awards, including the Breakthrough Award at the 2016 Golden Joystick Awards. Barone was named in Forbes's "30 Under 30: Games" list in 2017 for his work on the game. Beyond developing the game, he has released several albums of the game's music, co-authored an official cookbook, and organized two orchestral concert tours based on its soundtrack. He has also donated to educational and environmental causes, including his alma mater and a nonprofit supporting the game development framework MonoGame.

Bio from Wikipedia