Disney Dreamlight Valley Announces Release Date

It has been more than a year since the release of the Animal Crossing-killer-to-be Disney Dreamlight Valley by developer and publisher Gameloft. The time for the game's release is finally here, meeting its expected release timeframe of launching next year (back in 2022). But the announcement of the soon-to-be official launch of the game (which saw the end of its main story a while back) comes with sour news for those who have been waiting a year and a half to play it.

Announced in a blog post, the official global launch for the title is on the 5th of December, though many will find disappointing news shared by Gameloft about their plans to back down on their original promise to release Disney Dreamlight Valley free-to-play once it had its full release. The news comes unexpectedly, especially as Gameloft had previously mentioned the game would be released free-to-play for everyone.

Alongside the announcement of the global release and the permanent paid entry, Disney Dreamlight Valley announced its first Expansion Pass in their first-ever showcase on the 1st of November at 6pm BST, wherein players will be able to learn about the A Rift in Time Expansion Pass, see which characters will partake, and even learn a bit at the highly anticipated multiplayer features.

From the image available already in A Rift in Time, four new characters will be joining the roster of Disney and Pixar characters that are available, including Gaston, Rapunzel, Eva, and (seemingly) Jafar from the looks of the castle in the background. Alongside this, two new biomes will be releasing and a slew of new pets, judging by the image.

According to the blog post, both the decision to release A Rift in Time and surrender the free-to-play launch of the core game in favour of new, upcoming free updates that include new characters, realms, clothing, furniture, and "more surprises to your Valley". This has divided players, as the already heavily monetized aspects of the title were in place due to the expected free-to-play release.

Though the "What other ways are there to spend real money in Disney Dreamlight Valley" help article has been updated as of the release of the blogpost, the previous one before it was updated featured the following:

The newly revised version has removed the line about focusing on cosmetic items, favouring instead expansions that won't affect the core game, whilst players will still be able to earn free Moonstones through the DreamSnaps (where everyone competes in weekly decoration or clothing challenges). This is definitely partly going back on their word of keeping microtransactions to strictly cosmetic items, but previously, the line included alluded to expansions in the first place.

Once the game releases, there will be three ways to get the core game in the form of the original release, the Cozy Edition, and the Gold Edition, though it's worth noting that the newly announced Gold Edition items will be given to everyone who supported the game in Early Access free of charge, alongside 2,500 Moonstones (significantly fewer than the 15,000 Moonstones included in the Gold Edition). This is your final chance to get the Standard Founder's, Deluxe Founder's, and Ultimate Founder's versions, which include a total of 42,500 Moonstones (which is equivalent to around £134.97) at a significant discount. 

How do you feel about the changes to Disney Dreamlight Valley? Feel free to let us know in the comments below, and look forward to the full release of the game, alongside the release of the A Rift in Time Expansion Pass, on the 5th of December 2023.