Dreamlight Valley Just Did The UNTHINKABLE | FREE-TO-PLAY CANCELED | Eternity Isle & GLOBAL LAUNCH 

Yeah i agree with this. Although i have the paid game i missed out a lot since summer. Since i moved to my dorm ive had no pc to play on. So ive missed out on all the star paths and updates.

Since, at the time, I didn't know about these lovely Dreamlight streamers, like Probably Sempai, I missed the whole Centennial Star Path because Hogwarts Legacy had just come out and I was playing that and paused playing Dreamlight Valley and missed the whole event. Although my situation is not the same as yours, I understand the disappointment of missing a Star Path.

I feel that too. I missed the first star path because I hadn't bought my founders pack yet and I'm really wishing I could get the Up hot air balloon with some moonstones.

Very true! I'm hoping more players discover and purchase Dreamlight Valley before this major update so they can take advantage of the founders' benefits. That said, once the update arrives and multiplayer is featured and incorporated, it will likely draw new players. 😊

Glad you enjoyed it!

November first can't come soon enough! 😁

There is a silver lining for Switch players here! The new biomes are attached to an entirely new map you can travel too and it's much smaller than our standard valley. This means there will be much less to load and render, and the update should be optimal for the Switch! Now, with that said, I'm in the same boat. I play on PC and was excited to pick up the free variant on my Xbox and Switch, but I don't want to buy the game 3 times. 😅 Though, in your case, picking up a PC copy would totally be worth it. This game is incredible on PC. It's a totally different experience and would be well worth the money if you're willing!

@@Probably_Senpai I may still look into PC maybe there will be a good deal soon🤞

Players who have been playing this entire time, definitely are making out really well. It is new players I feel really bad for. If you thought you were going to get a free to play game for Christmas only to find out it $70, that is rough.

​@@Lilitha11I completely agree with this. I have also been burnt by the same issue, even with games that I was willing to pay for, such as Hogwarts for Switch. It can be a very frustrating and upsetting experience. However, while I sympathize with newer players who are encountering these challenges, I still hope they will give the game a chance. As someone who has been playing the game from the beginning, I am grateful that the developers continue to provide support and make us feel like valued members of the community. I believe that they have done a fairly good job of keeping the game accessible to those who are not able to spend money on it regularly, with various ways to earn moonstones and other rewards. Furthermore, I think that the decision to not make the game free-to-play is a wise one, as it helps to prevent a pay-to-win environment from developing. While some may prefer a free-to-play game, I personally would rather have a game that is not free but remains fair for all players. I completely agree with this. I have also been burnt by the same issue, even with games that I was willing to pay for, such as Hogwarts for Switch. It can be a very frustrating and upsetting experience. However, while I sympathize with newer players who are encountering these challenges, I still hope they will give the game a chance. As someone who has been playing the game from the beginning, I am grateful that the developers continue to provide support and make us feel like valued members of the community. I believe that they have done a fairly good job of keeping the game accessible to those who are not able to spend money on it regularly, with various ways to earn moonstones and other rewards. Furthermore, I think that the decision to not make the game free-to-play is a wise one, as it helps to prevent a pay-to-win environment from developing. While some may prefer a free-to-play game, I personally would rather have a game that is not free but remains fair for all players. I completely agree with this. I have also been burnt by the same issue, even with games that I was willing to pay for, such as Hogwarts for Switch. It can be a very frustrating and upsetting experience. However, while I sympathize with newer players who are encountering these challenges, I still hope they will give the game a chance. As someone who has been playing the game from the beginning, I am grateful that the developers continue to provide support and make us feel like valued members of the community. I believe that they have done a fairly good job of keeping the game accessible to those who are not able to spend money on it regularly, with various ways to earn moonstones and other rewards. Furthermore, I think that the decision to not make the game free-to-play is a wise one, as it helps to prevent a pay-to-win environment from developing. While some may prefer a free-to-play game, I personally would rather have a game that is not free but remains fair for all players.

Hope you enjoyed it!

so we could have 5 potential new characters before january,if it encludes jafar not mike.🙂 the new royal tool i think its like a time machine kinda thing reverse time to fix things maybe👍

Oh yes, there's A LOT coming. We'll get to see even more on November 1st. The feature I'm most eager to see is multiplayer.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaa! That’s all I have! I’m so excited

Glad it helped!

Oh you KNOW I have to cover this! haha!

I'm sure there will be A LOT to discuss after November 1st! 😁

You know me, my videos take a bit longer because I always need to be ✨✨E X T R A✨✨ but of course, I HAVE to cover THIS!

To be fair, this was already explained in the video and dev blog. 😁 Only the expansions and *optional* moonstone purchases will cost actual money. Not to mention Moonstones are way more abundant than they used to be. The dev blog stated that the expansion is not free-to-play because gameloft wants to continue releasing free updates every couple of months. Expansion like this will likely only come once a year. This expansion has an entirely new map, new companions, a new tool, new mechanics, and new characters. There's no way Gameloft can crank out an expansion of this magnitude every couple of months. Now, had the game actually gone "Free-To-Play" then it very well could have turned into a $30-$40 dollar money dump every couple of months...

Are we still getting the Cosy Game stuff free as Founders like they said we would?

As I said in the video, this is certainly a valid position. I knew from the jump this news wasn't going to be well received by all, especially in a circumstance such as yours. Many players would likely encourage you to continue enjoying the game and focus on whatever positivity you can latch onto. Though, that wouldn't truly be sound advice. From one gamer to another, gaming should be a stress reliever. Gaming is about sharing moments and adventures with friends and family, it's about relaxing, and often it's about escaping the stressors we encounter through life. If any game is causing you undue stress or applying financial pressure, it may be best to part ways with it. As much as I'd love to encourage you to stick with the game, I'd rather encourage you to take the path that gives you more peace of mind and less stress. If it helps, it does at least look like there will be many more free updates, and the new multiplayer feature will not require you to buy the expansion. Hopefully, you and your family will still be able to enjoy some of the new features without heavy investment.

I feel you on that. What I did was buy one copy of the game. My kids either watch me play or take turns playing. They don't care if they miss most of the quests, but they do like to watch when I open up a new realm & meet a new character. I let them each decorate a floor in my house however they want. When they added house skins, I let them each have a house to decorate. Decorating the valley is primarily me but that could be split up. Maybe you can continue playing by just doing the expansion on one account.

Well, if you game a lot, it shouldn't be too shocking to see microtransactions in a paid game. That's actually very common these days, and it's a feature in nearly every "paid" game that has regular free content updates. Take "Diablo IV" for example. It's a 70$ dollar cost for the base game. The best outfits are behind a microtransaction system, and it's WAY more expensive than anything in Dreamlight Valley. Yet the Diablo IV player base wasn't shocked or confused by the presence of these microtransactions. They understood that since Diablo IV was going to have free regular seasonal updates, that these revenue generation methods were to be expected. Game devs can't just sell a game and then continue to make free updates forever. Even if they charge $30 or $40 for the game, that money will eventually dry up... and when that happens, no more dev paychecks, which means no more free updates, which means no more new quests, which means the game dies. Any game designed to provide players with constant updates and seasonal events must have a means to fund that endeavor. Microtransactions are necessary for a game like DDLV, and I believe the devs have been more than generous with the moonstones. Lastly, I'm not sure if you played Animal Crossing New Horizon's, but consider this. The base game was $60. The game had a couple of free updates in its life span, and neither were anywhere near the size and scale of even the *smallest* dreamlight Valley update. Eventually, Animal Crossing did get a big update in the form of a $30 DLC. The game had NO microtransactions. After the DLC Nintendo permanently *stopped* making new content for the game. Why? Because it wasn't going to generate money anymore and development is expensive. This is why most gamers expect microtransactions in *any* paid game so long as new content is consistently offered in return.

@@Probably_Senpai That is some what true. However, there are a lot of games that do constant updates free of charge. For example, Terraria is famous for making constant updates even 10 years after release with no microtransactions. It was a one time payment of $10. Raft, Phasmophobia, Project zomboid, I can think of a lot of games, that offered free updates and new content years later, and they were all one time purchases with no microtransactions and most of them were far cheaper than disney dreamlight valley too. To be fair a lot of these were in EA for a long time, but the one time low payment got them all the way through a prolonged EA period and they just keep releasing updates after updates. I have like 450 games in my steam library, and like 5-10 have microtransaction in them at all. Maybe 2 of them are paid and have microtransaction. Some do have a lot of DLC. DLC is extremely common, and I think them releasing the expansion pass is completely normal. It really doesn't seem like paid games have microtransactions all that often. I am aware that some style/genre of games are far worse at this than others, so it isn't uncommon in some games, but I think in games overall, it really isn't that common. Now if you are talking about games with microtransactions, that are free to play, that is a lot more common. I think even Dreamlight Valley understood this, which is why they said they were going to be free to play. They wanted microtransactions, so their first thought was to be free. At some point, someone at their company had to have done the math and thought the game could run forever while being free if they had microtransactions, so I don't believe that for a second it is impossible to do. It is possible they miscalculated and released they needed it to be paid to make the money they expected, though it is also possible they just thought they could make more money if they made it paid. There was at least one point where they thought they could do it without being paid though, and it is normal for many games. All that said, they did start giving away a lot more moonstones for free. I will give them credit for that. I think they realized they went too far with the microtransaction and they stepped back and eased things on players by giving out a lot more moonstones. If they are making the game paid as a consequence of giving away more free moonstones and hurting their revenue with the microtransactions, I can respect that decision. Ultimately I am not too upset by it in the end, because I feel like they did listen to players about everything being too expensive and they did take steps to resolve it. I think they could of planned things better, but it is what it is.

100% agree. I'm pretty set on MS for now but I love the exclusives!

🎶 CAPYBARRA CAPPYBARRA CAPYBARRA 🎶

You and me both!

This is really the only thing I'm disappointed about. I was waiting for free to play to put the game on all my other devices. 😅

My pleasure!

It's a paid game but it's an evolving game that will continue to drop regular free updates. This requires funding and I personally believe the devs have been EXTREMELY generous with moonstones. 😊

Yes, I saw the video! My community and I watched it all on my live broadcast yesterday! There's SO much to look forward to!

You're welcome, and thank you! I appreciate you watching and greatly appreciate the support! 🥹

That's a good point... time to start making some star coins... 😅

A small correction here, we'll actually all get 7500 moonstones if we already currently own the game and purchase the expansion as well. The dev blog stated that all founders will receive a bonus 2500 moonstones, and the expansion comes with 5000. So in total, 7500 moonstones! 😊 Everything else you said was 100% spot on. Especially the perspective from Sims 4. I didn't play it, but I've heard the stories!

So, actually, this new update should function better on the Switch than the current game and the item limit won't be a huge problem for you... 😅 Let me explain, The Switch has very old hardware. It struggles to load and render a well decorated valley. Hence, the 3000 item limit. The valley holds a total of EIGHT biomes. The nintendo switch has stability issues due to the size of the map and the amount of items placed. However, this new frontier is NOT attached to our current valley. It's been revealed as a *seperate* land. That means your Switch will only need to load *three* biomes not *eight* biomes. Additionally, this new land will have its own item limit, entirely separate from the current valley. It wouldn't make *any* sense for the devs to just throw these new biomes into our current valley as most players have already exhausted their item limit. 😊

@@Probably_Senpai Thank you for your reply and explanation about the new world in the DLC. I really hope it will work better on the Switch than the 8 biome world we have now. That being said, I don't know if you tried the game on Switch, but decorating is a nightmare. And unless they work on the controls, it won't change the bad experience we have now. Just a quick example, when you move the camera, you're supposed to press ZL+left joystick. When placing and moving an item, it's only left joystick. But in reality, moving the left joystick move the item+the camera at the same time ! You can't have a way to just move your items around without the camera always moving at the same time ! That's why I wanted to move on PC when going F2P, as when I saw videos of decorations on PC, I was shocked how easy it was, just like in the sims games. I'll be waiting for the stream on Novembre 1st, and see what I do after, maybe find the game on sale on PC would be a good option.

As you said, we'll see! Personally, I'm optimistic. As I stated in this video, I've certainly gotten my moneys worth. I don't mind shelling out more support for the game as I believe Gameloft and the dev team have done a wonderful job, and the moonstone prizes from Dreamsnaps have been insanely generous. With all that said, your skepticism is fair and valid. We're all entitled to our perspectives! Cheers!

Yep!

I'd just go ahead and buy it now. You'll get bonus moonstones that way. It's going to cost about the same regardless, but on December 5th, all founding players will get an additional 2500 moonstones.

I don't believe this is the case and I feel like this was made clear in the dev blog. The expansion will give us the new frontier and some new characters but just like act one, free updates will continue to roll out that add to the story and character roster for act 2. I believe it's going to be very similar to what we've seen since early access started.

@@Probably_Senpai I hope you are right! Still, we see in the promo art for "a rift in time" the castle of Agrabah in the background. That alone makes say that Jafar will be an expansion character. 🤔

@claireaquos6532 Yep, in my opnion, Jafar will 100% be exclusive to the Expansion pack. Why wouldn't he be? This was teased at the end of act one. 😁 In my previous comment, I stated: "The expansion will give us the new frontier and some new characters" There will still be entirely separate free updates that include more characters arriving in the Dreamlight Castle realms. As these free characters release, it's very likely some of them will have quests specifically dedicated to the expansion just like in act one! Think back to characters like "Fairy Godmother" who tied into the MAIN story. The expansion IS the new main story. My advice would be to try and not be fearful or pessimistic. The devs have been good to us so far and I don't believe ACT 2 would be completed in just one update. Try a bit of optimism! I promise, it's worth it as it makes life a lot less stressful. Cheers!

@@Probably_Senpai OH! I thought when you said "I don't think it's the case" that you meant act 2 isn't tie to the expansion pack. 😅 So you do believe the expansion will have it's own "free" uptades too (Or at least that each new free uptades will have exclusive content for those with the extension now that I think about it). Don't get me wrong thought, I'm still very exited for the expansion and act 2. Howerver, the reason I worry is because we are getting 3 new biomes and 3 new characters. Usally, biomes stories are tied with one character each. So that makes me think we're getting one character with each biome unlock... but maybe indeed only one is biome tied while the 2 others will be unlock like how we unlock Stich for exemple 🤔 Theory: I strongly believe Timon and Pumba will appear in the jungle biome in future uptades. 🤔 Can't wait for all of this 😁

@claireaquos6532 Ohhh! Yeah, definitely a miss communication then! I was saying, "I don't think that's the case," in reference to your original comment. You said that you feared all of the Act 2 stories would roll out in the upcoming expansion update. I'm personally of the belief that the expansion is only the beginning of Act 2 stories, and the story will continue to evolve in some way with many of the following free updates. Of course, right now, we can't be too sure, but we'll know more on November 1st!

The game was $30-$40 on launch (USD), and we haven't seen all of the expansion details.

@Probably_Senpai Not everyone bought the game on the launch date. Some of us paid more than $40 for the bigger package.

So it’s going to become like elder scrolls online?

You may have to buy the expansion, but the base game will likely remain on gamepass. 😊

I think the lower level founders pack with the buzz stuff counted because you were still early access but I could be wrong

If you own the game now you are a founder!

I came here wondering the same, will the game still be available via game pass or will that change once the game exits beta

They have confirmed that the base game will remain on gamepass! Though, I believe gamepass players will have to pay for the expansion if they want it.

Well said. I agree!

Hmmm... I didn't see that date anywhere in the dev blog, but I certainly wouldn't mind getting it 2 days early.

It depends on what you mean by "connected" It will be in the same game and we can travel between them with ease. Did you see the teaser for this new land on the post credit scene upon completing act one? It showed a map of our valley with an arrow pointing away from it and leading to a new land with three biomes. Lastly, the new biomes being on a separate map is a HUGE blessing. This means the new area and biomes will have their own item limits and won't negatively impact our current builds. Further, this will make the new area *far* more stable on Nintendo Switch. A separate map with only 3 biomes will be so much easier to render compared to our massive original valley. I don't see a single downside to a new land with new biomes. It would be *so* weird if the devs just started adding random biomes to our current valley! 😂

The funny thing is that a huge influx of participants in Dreamsnaps would actually make good ranks and rewards easier! Consider this! To get the 4000 moonstone reward, you'll need to be in the top 7.5% of Dreamsnaps. If there are 50,000 submissions, you'll need a rank at or better than 3,750 to get the 4K moonstones. If the number of submissions suddenly doubled to 100,000, then you would only need a rank of 7500 or better to get the 4K moonstones. Now, normally, more people vs. fewer people would be irrelevant because you'll need to place in the top 7.5% regardless of the number of players. However, in this scenario, we're assuming many of these submissions are coming from a large influx of new players. I've spoken to tons of new players on my channel regarding Dreamsnaps. It's hard for them because they're typically at a *major* disadvantage. They have very few decor and clothing options and restricted access to some of the games' biomes. Therefore, an influx of new players would only help your dreamsnaps rank & rewards.

@@Probably_Senpai Sure, that's assuming they would keep things the same should things go f2p. I think they would have had to lower the rewards in order to encourage purchasing of moonstones. That or raising the premium shop prices. That being said, I believe they made this decision to not go f2p, in order to keep the fanbase happier overall. Plus I'm sure the savings from not having f2p players using their servers doesn't hurt 😅

@@HiKingMargo my guess is that with a free-to-play model, Dreamsnaps and premium shop items would stay the exact same... but other aspects of the game would start costing moonstones. This would mean far more dreambundles for villagers & paywalls for most new characters. I believe this was their original plan. Realm access and updates would always have an associated moonstone cost. The devs had already hinted at this back when free-to-play was still on the table. Consider the wording in the dev blog we just read through in this video. The devs stated they chose to move away from free to play to ensure continued, high quality, *free* content updates. This insinuates that the free-to-play model would have charged in someway for these regular content updates. Also, abrubptly changing the the Dreamsnaps features would be more trouble than it's worth for the devs and players. It would be far easier for them to just find more ways to drain our moonstone reserves. Either way, I'm really glad we're not heading in that direction.

I can't really say it is a 'good' thing, since we don't know if it will actually increase the quality of content or longevity of the game. I mean, we all hope that it will, but what we hope for doesn't mean a lot.

I agree. I know some players and individuals hoping to pick up the game for free will be disappointed, but I believe this is for the best. I was very concerned with what a Free-To-Play model would look like. Loot boxes? Gambling Mechanics? Pay Walls for all additional content? No thanks! I'll happily pay for an expansion instead! 😁

I agree. I know some players and individuals hoping to pick up the game for free will be disappointed, but I believe this is for the best. I was very concerned with what a Free-To-Play model would look like. Loot boxes? Gambling Mechanics? Pay Walls for all additional content? No thanks! I'll happily pay for an expansion instead! 😁 That said, I do feel for any players who couldn't afford the game and were looking forward to the free download.

@@Probably_Senpaiabsolutely! I’ve had too many games that I love go F2P and they’ve fizzled out into nothing. Have you seen the video? Oh my gawd! I’m so excited now!

This is crap, gameloft lied, they said it was a f2p game in early access. That was a lie, now they want us to pay $30 for a DLC they are giving new players (gold) for free. We support them in early access and we get screwed. False advertising, will bot support gameloft in anything wlse they do. Can't trust them and they care nothing about the people that supported them.

Ehh, if we are paying every few months for a big expansions, then I don't feel like we should have microtransactions in the game as well.

The base game will likely remain on gamepass. The expansipn will still cost you money to play.

@@Probably_Senpai thank you

Hahaha I was in the same boat with Animal Crossing!

As a PC player I feel the same... but I get it. The Cozy edition is "physical copy only" and most modern gaming PCs don't even have a disc drive. I'm just sad I'm missing out on some unique cosmetics but... oh well.🙃

Gamepass cost money... that's not Free-To-Play 😅

Personally, I'm very happy they're not doing a free to play model anymore. A free to play variant would have 3x to 4x the amount of microtransactions. That said, I do think Gameloft could have gone about this whole decision in a better manner and possibly communicated this earlier. It's kind of strange to give a game you've never played (and never will play) zero stars, but that's your choice. I'm so glad they're taking this route and the new expansion looks so exciting! Cheers!

I would love a Physical copy on switch

There's nothing wrong with that. Multiplayer isn't a part of the paid expansion, though... it's free. There's a lot more in this video other than multiplayer 😅

My understanding is if we own any founders pack before or on the 4th we get the gold exclusive items and 2,500 free. So your only purchase choices is cozy ed and rift in time expansion pack . 😊

From how I understand, if you already have the founders pack, the summer cottage, etc will be a bonus to those who then purchase the expanded rift in time pack.

That's right! You know I got you covered! 😊

While I do feel bad for anyone who won't be able to afford this expansion, I think it's a bit much to assume "all the kids" who play will have a hard time getting the update. Far more kids play games like "Fortnite" than "Dreamlight Valley" and their parents often keep them supplied with a healthy serving of "V-Bucks" to pay for a new season pass every couple of months. $30 dollars a year for an occasional new expansion is not out of reach for child gamers. Keep in mind that many children who game wish for $60 AAA titles. Most parents would likely be more than happy to pick up a $30 dollar expansion instead so long as it's what their kid wants instead. The only players who miss out will be those who truly can't justify the cost or afford the $30 expense. This is not exclusive to children.

I feel bad for people who don't have the game yet at all. If you got the game a year ago for $30 and are still playing it, chances are you got your money's worth and you are more willing to buy the expansion. Buying a $30 expansion on launch day, after you just paid $40 for the base game, is a much larger ask. I know how people are, and even though you don't have to buy the expansion right off the bat, I know people will feel like they are missing out if they don't buy it.

@@Lilitha11 I've been a gamer nearly all my life and I almost never buy expansions or DLC until I play through the base game and most of my friends are the same. 😁 I prefer to play through the game *first* so I can be sure it's worth it and that I enjoy the game enough to warrant the purchase. Now, if somebody wants to just throw $69.99 at the game without ever experiencing it first, I'd hope they've done enough research to warrant the purchase. Either way... I'm *not* going to feel "bad" for any adult who chooses to spend $70 on a game they're interested in. This happens ALL the time with gaming. Starfield is $70, Diablo 4 is $70, and there are hundreds of thousands of games that cost $60 for a base game with *NO* free content updates. I'm sorry but what an adult chooses to do with their hard earned money is their business and I won't feel bad for anyone looking to jump into a new game. 😁 Again, the *only* people I feel bad for in this whole situation are the gamers who simply can't afford the game at all and were looking forward to free-to-play.

@@Probably_Senpai I agree with you, but I am also aware there is a lot of people with the fear of missing out mindset. I am sure you have seen people who freak out because they are like missing a chair. When it comes to an entire expansion, it is far worse though. In that case they would be missing out on entire characters and areas. I don't think the FOMO is a healthy mindset to be in. In the case of like a chair, I also think it is a bit silly. Though for an entire expansion pass I understand it a bit more. I normally wouldn't even give this a second thought, but I know in this community specifically, there is a far larger amount of FOMO than in most other games. I am not sure if that is due to the style of the game, or because it is a Disney product, but it seems to be the case.

Agreed. Animal Crossing died out due to a lack of new content. Sadly, we only got one DLC/expansion for New Horizons, and it was a bit underwhelming after such a long wait. 😅