Disney Dreamlight Valley won’t be free-to-play after early access is over

Disney Dreamlight Valley, a cozy life sim that’s currently in early access, will not be going free-to-play despite the developers previously promising it would.

Earlier today, Oct. 27, the developer Gameloft shared news about how Disney Dreamlight Valley would be leaving early access soon. The tweet linked to the game’s official website, where additional information was also shared. In the news, the developers revealed the game would not be transitioning to a free-to-play model despite what was promised even before the game launched in early access. 

When the game releases on Dec. 5, 2023, it will still require an upfront cost, now raised to a minimum of $40, and it will also receive an expansion pass, along with the already-present Star Path battle pass. 

Disney Dreamlight Valley launched in early access on Sept. 6, 2022. Players who wanted to participate in the early access had to pay anywhere from $29.99 to $69.98. The game was scheduled to be fully released by the end of 2023, when it was promised it would be transferring to a free-to-play model. 

The early access also came with Star paths, similar to battle passes in Fortnite, where players could pay a premium to unlock extra cosmetic items and additional in-game currency. In a later update, Dreamlight Valley also added extra paid story content and a premium cosmetic shop. Many players complained via Twitter, Reddit, and the official Discord server, claiming the game asked for too much while still being in early access. 

As someone who has played the game since launch, the writing was on the wall. While the game likes to charge players extra for cosmetics and battle passes, nothing about these purchases is mandatory to enjoy Disney Dreamlight Valley, which already offers quite a lot of content for a single purchase. At this point, switching to a free-to-play model doesn’t make much sense profit-wise. But having these kinds of freemium extras and costs in a paid game still hurts.

Disney Dreamlight Valley could one day become a free-to-play title, but when the game leaves early access, new players will have to pay upfront to enjoy Disney’s relaxing game. 

If you are already enjoying Disney Dreamlight Valley, we have a list of all the promotional codes you can use in the game.