Is Disney Dreamlight Valley free to play?

By Jesse Lennox July 25, 2023

If you’re a fan of Disney, the Animal Crossing games, or better yet, both, then you’ve no doubt at least heard about Disney Dreamlight Valley. This original title lets you create a custom character that can enter the titular valley to meet a wide range of your favorite Disney characters. The game launched into early access in 2022, but with a price tag of $30 to play. For those who would rather wait until the game is complete to join in on the fun of helping out all your favorite childhood characters, there’s the question of whether you will also need to pay when the game fully launches. Here’s what you need to know regarding Disney Dreamlight Valley and if it will be free to play.

Is Disney Dreamlight Valley free to play?

A player walks by Wall-E while heading into a cave in Disney Dreamlight Valley. — Gameloft

Disney Dreamlight Valley remains in early access for now, but the developers at Gameloft have made it clear from the start that the title will indeed be free to play upon its official release. There will still be microtransactions and expansions to purchase, but the base experience will be free for everyone.

That leaves the big question of when Disney Dreamlight Valley will leave early access. Gameloft has only given the window of 2023 for the full release, however, the content road map may hint at the game coming out sometime after the early summer update. The only update listed after this, simply listed as “Late 2023,” is the final entry on the road map and is by far the most substantial and ends with the vague “…and other magical surprises.” Fans speculate that an update of this size, whenever it comes, would likely be when the game finally exits early access.

There is one slight technicality some players can take advantage of. If you are a Game Pass subscriber on either an Xbox console or PC, you will have full access to Disney Dreamlight Valley. Since it does require a paid subscription, this isn’t “free,” but it is a way to access the game without an additional cost if you are a Game Pass subscriber.

As soon as we know when Disney Dreamlight Valley is set to exit early access and go fully free to play, we will update this article to keep you in the loop.

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Jesse Lennox loves writing, games, and complaining about not having time to write and play games. He knows the names of more…

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