Infinity Nikki Is Getting a Stardew Valley Collab in September, But Not Everyone Is Happy About It

Infinity Nikki is getting some sort of crossover collaboration with Stardew Valley beginning September 1, and though we really have no idea what all it involves, there are already some surprisingly mixed reactions coming from the community in the wake of the announcement. But it’s not Stardew Valley’s fault – it’s the result of five months of increasing community frustration directed at Infinity Nikki’s developer, Infold.

This comes from a video posted to the official Infinity Nikki Twitter/X account, that shows Stardew Valley’s Junimos entering the world of Infinity Nikki. “Cozy surprises await you, and adventure is in the air,” reads the post. “Prepare your senses for a harvest of wonders.” While it’s fairly likely this means new outfits for Nikki, there’s really nothing to indicate exactly what the collaboration entails. It’s also impossible to tell if anything Infinity Nikki will show up on the Stardew Valley side, especially since Stardew crossovers have been few and far between over the years.

While this news seems like it would be entirely positive, one glance at the community suggests that’s not the case. What players are mad about isn’t the collaboration itself, though, but the announcement’s timing and framing following ongoing tension between the Infinity Nikki community and developer Infold.

The community has been riled up for some time, ever since update 1.5 this past April added some controversial changes to the game. The changes were multifaceted – some seemed to retcon Infinity Nikki’s story, while others caused player frustration by ramping up the money and time investments required to collect full outfits. In response, the community launched a boycott campaign that they ultimately had to rename a “girlcott” when official Infinity Nikki channels appeared to block the use of the word “boycott” entirely. While Infold did apologize and rectify some of the issues, not all of them were fixed, the community remained dissatisfied, and the studio dodged further questions posed by reporters.

But more recently, a new controversy has struck. Infold notoriously doesn’t reveal new outfits or new updates until right before they’re due to launch, which over time has led to leakers sharing outfits in advance so the community can make better decisions about whether or not to spend money on certain outfits, or wait for the next update.

Early this week, however, Infold decided it had enough, and published a lengthy essay on its social channels denouncing leakers, complete with an image that reads, “LEAKS, [sic] ARE POISON TO ALL CREATION!!”

Here’s the message in full:

That’s not all, though. That “Pounding Hammer” given out in the game alongside this message? It’s got a fascinating item description in-game: “There are moments when one’s hands itch, eager to raise a mighty hammer toward a certain target.”

Needless to say, the community is not thrilled. Since this message, players have been expressing frustration on various Infinity Nikki social channels, arguing that the message was juvenile, unnecessarily harsh, and ignored the real issue the community is facing: that people feel they can’t make informed decisions about how to spend their money because the studio doesn’t communicate its plans well. Players are rallying in support of the leakers now, though others are pushing back, arguing that Infold has a right to go after leakers and announce updates when and how it chooses.

Which brings us back to Stardew Valley. No one’s actually mad about Stardew Valley – in fact, there’s plenty of fun speculation about what outfits might be tied to the collaboration. What players are upset about is the timing, which some are suggesting is all-too-convenient to distract from the controversy around leakers. While most recognize that the timing is coincidental (Gamescom is this week, it’s understandable Infold would have something big to announce), the fundamental problems the community has with the studio continue to go unanswered, and seem likely to be swept under the rug again in the wake of another cute outfit reveal.

It’s just too bad for Stardew and its fans, who rarely get crossovers like this and are now caught in the middle. Poor Junimos.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.