Disney Dreamlight Valley Leaving Early Access In December, Will Not Go Free-To-Play

With over a year of early-access time now logged, Gameloft has announced that Disney Dreamlight Valley--the Animal-Crossing-esque life sim featuring a who's who of Disney characters--will fully launch globally on December 5. However, the news comes with a major caveat: Despite originally being touted as a free-to-play title, Gameloft has changed course and elected not to go that route anymore.

A new blog post on the game's official website confirmed the global release date, while also explaining the reasoning behind the choice to remain a paid game. One major reason behind the choice, according to the post, was to let the studio "continue delivering on a premium game experience," which includes regular free content updates.

"This choice ensures that Disney Dreamlight Valley will be able to continue delivering on a premium game experience for all players," the blog post reads. "It's important to us that we maintain our promise to keep delivering free content updates that add new characters, realms, clothing, furniture, and more surprises to your Valley.

Those who purchase the upcoming Disney Dreamlight Valley: Cozy Edition on November 10 will not have to buy the base game again, as that release is confirmed to make the transition to full release one month later. Current owners of Founder's Packs will also be able to access the game post-launch, but they will also receive 2,500 Moonstones and extra cosmetics as a thank you for adopting early.

The blog post also announced the game's first-ever paid expansion pass, A Rift In Time, which will be available as a standalone purchase for $30 on December 5. Gameloft plans to broadcast a full reveal of the expansion on November 1 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET, which will "[show] off this all-new adventure across Eternity Isle where you’ll meet new friends, discover new biomes, and immerse yourself in new gameplay features."

Disney Dreamlight Valley is available now in early access for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The physical Cozy Edition will launch November 10 for all consoles.