Eric Lorenz Barone (born December 3, 1987), who is professionally known as ConcernedApe, is an American video game developer and musician. He is most famous for creating the 2016 video game Stardew Valley by himself. As a video game developer with a degree in computer science, Barone was responsible for all parts of the game, including writing the code and creating the music. He worked alone on updates to the game for many years after it was released, and later hired a small team to help with additional development. He continues to support Stardew Valley while working on his next project, Haunted Chocolatier.

Early life and education

Barone was born on December 3, 1987, in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Auburn, Washington, a town near Seattle. He said the Harvest Moon series was his favorite as a child and remained a favorite as an adult.

Although he did not receive formal music training, Barone played music during his childhood and was part of several bands, including a nu metal band and an experimental pop band. For the experimental pop band’s album, he made his first video game, a point-and-click game inspired by games created by LucasArts.

He studied computer science at the University of Washington Tacoma and graduated in 2011. In 2019, he received the University of Washington Tacoma Distinguished Alumni Award.

Barone learned basic programming but did not plan to make video games for a living. After graduating college, he struggled to find a job and started developing Stardew Valley to practice programming in C#. He intended to include the game on his resume to help him find work.

Career

Eric Barone started working on Stardew Valley in 2012 and finished it in 2016. He was the only person who designed, programmed, animated, drew, composed music for, and wrote the game. To complete the game, he worked about 10 hours each day, seven days a week, for four years and six months.

At one point, he lived with his parents to save money before moving out with his girlfriend to Capitol Hill, Seattle. While living there, his girlfriend, Amber Hageman, worked two jobs to help support both of them. Barone also worked a part-time job as an evening usher at the Paramount Theatre.

Barone first released Stardew Valley for computers before making it work on other gaming systems. As of February 2026, the game has sold more than 50 million copies.

In 2017, Forbes magazine listed Barone in their "30 Under 30: Games" list for his work on Stardew Valley. Since 2019, Barone has had help from another designer and a team of developers on Stardew Valley.

In 2016, Barone released the Stardew Valley: Original Soundtrack, which includes the game's official music.

On August 15, 2020, an orchestral album called Symphonic Tale: The Place I Truly Belong (Music from Stardew Valley) was released. The album was directed by Kentaro Sato and performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra. It includes 15 tracks from the game's original soundtrack.

In February 2021, Barone and board game designer Cole Medeiros released Stardew Valley: The Board Game, a cooperative board game version of Stardew Valley. After the first printing of the game went on sale, it sold out quickly. Sales were later reopened with some changes.

Barone worked with Norihiko Hibino on an album series called Prescription for Sleep. The series mixes video game soundtracks with piano and saxophone music. The Stardew Valley album in this series was released in May 2021. It includes 10 tracks from the game's original soundtrack and one new track called "Beauty in the Seasons."

In October 2023, Barone announced the first Stardew Valley concert tour, Stardew Valley: Festival of Seasons. The tour features live performances of music from the game by a chamber orchestra. In November 2024, Barone announced Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons, the second concert tour. This tour includes new arrangements of the game's music performed by a 35-piece orchestra.

Barone was one of the authors of The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook, released on May 14, 2024. The book includes more than 50 recipes based on those found in the game.

Barone's music from Stardew Valley is often played on Northwest Public Broadcasting's radio program, Press A To Play. The program first featured Stardew Valley music in its second episode, Pacific Northwest Independent Games. It was also played in episodes called Indie Darlings and Games We Played in 2020.

In 2008, Barone released his first game, called 17CF Quest. This game was also a promotion for the music group 17 Colorful Feathers. The main character from this game appears as a piece of furniture in Stardew Valley.

In 2011, Barone created a comic book series called Wumbus World.

In 2014, Barone took a one-month break during the development of Stardew Valley. During this time, he made a small mobile game called Air Pear for Android. The game was released on March 6, 2014. In the game, players guide a purple pear on a hoverboard between obstacles and compete for a high score.

In October 2021, Barone announced that a new game, Haunted Chocolatier, was being developed. In this game, players run a chocolate shop. It will focus more on combat than Stardew Valley. Barone said, "Almost everything in Haunted Chocolatier, including the combat, is completely coded (and drawn) from scratch."

In 2022, Barone worked on an animated music video with the indie pop band Alvvays for their song "Many Mirrors." Barone created the animation for the video, which was his first time using 3D animation.

In 2024, Barone announced that he played in a steelpan band based in Seattle.

Barone voiced one of the characters in the video game Hollow Knight: Silksong, which was released in 2025.

In May 2021, Eric Barone funded key upgrades (including watering systems and a greenhouse) for the Giving Garden at UW Tacoma's campus (21st & Fawcett). His donations also created a paid student coordinator role, helping the garden donate over 200 pounds of food each year.

In July 2024, Eric Barone donated at least $25,000 to the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust. This organization is a nonprofit that works to protect a 1.5-million-acre area stretching from Seattle to Ellensburg along I-90.

In December 2025, MonoGame announced that Barone had supported the project with an initial donation of $125,000 and a plan to give $1,250 each month.