Disney Dreamlight Valley Switches to Premium Game Model, Scrapping Free-to-Play Plans Ahead of December Launch

Disney Dreamlight Valley's sudden move from free-to-play to premium model leaves community divided, with three new paid editions set for launch alongside an expansion pass. The game developer, Gameloft, cites quality assurance as reasoning behind the shift, promising continuation of free content updates post-launch.

Disney Dreamlight Valley, developed by Gameloft, has abandoned its original free-to-play launch plan. The studio now intends to maintain a paid game model, citing quality assurance as the reasoning.
There will be three paid editions available once Disney Dreamlight Valley launches: the base game, the Cozy Edition, and the Gold Edition. Gameloft will continue to offer free content updates post-launch, promising new characters, realms, and more.
The community reactions are mixed, with some players expressing satisfaction with the shift away from a free-to-play model, anticipating this could prevent hard-leaning on monetization via the game's store. Others accuse Gameloft of greed and dishonesty due to the late change in plans.
During the early access period, players had to purchase a founder's pack to gain access to the game. The contents of the pack included entry into early access, exclusive cosmetics, and game extensions. These packs will still be available until the game's December 5 launch.
Existing players who purchased the founder's packs will continue to have game access and keep their in-game currency, Moonstones. They will also receive all the new cosmetics featured in the Gold Edition of the game, along with an extra 2,500 Moonstones for in-game store purchases.