Disney Dreamlight Valley (DDV) has been Gameloft’s most successful launch to date, and the team feels like it’s just getting started. As a farming life sim that combines elements of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing with a true Disney story that includes virtually unlimited IP, the formula looks set to succeed. But the live service world means that changes and additions are often expected, and Gameloft has now laid out its 2023 roadmap.
It includes new characters, new realms, and more, which are detailed below. Perhaps most exciting, multiplayer is on the docket for this year. GameSpot recently spoke with lead producer Mania Castet and marketing lead Clary Llewellyn to discuss the game’s first few months and many plans for the road ahead. We tried once again to discuss the possibility of Marvel and Star Wars characters coming to the Valley.
“The journey has been amazing so far, beyond any of our expectations, honestly,” Cast told me. “This is the biggest launch we’ve ever had,” Llewellyn added in no uncertain terms. Gameloft is historically known for mobile games, and chances are you’ve played some of its games before. Working on major IP such as Lego, Disney, and Sonic, Gameloft established itself as a creator of console-quality mobile games, which Castet said was the transition to Disney Dreamlight Valley and all console and Its simultaneous launch on PC platforms is the next logical step.
Gameloft’s roadmap to 2023 includes the introduction of new characters and IP from Disney, including Simba from The Lion King, Mirabelle from Encanto, and everyone’s favorite snowman, Olaf the Frozen. Those last two will arrive on February 7, while Simba is expected in the April update. New characters will continue to introduce new stories, whether it’s the main campaign around “The Frowning” or side stories that revolve around the characters themselves. In addition, the new Realms will take players out of the valley and into the standalone level where they will help characters through their hardships before recruiting them as new neighbors. The first two of the year will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Starpath Disney, and later, the Disney theme parks.
These are big beats that are both exciting and expected, as players have already seen some updates for the game that follow a similar track. However, 2023’s biggest new toy is due sometime later this year: multiplayer. Playing with others seems to be one of the most requested features, which makes sense for how important this feature is to Animal Crossing, one of DDV’s biggest competitors for farm sim mindshare. Castet couldn’t reveal much about multiplayer yet, as it seems to be at least a few months away, but what Gameloft hopes to achieve with the system.
“The idea is to be able to showcase your great collection or your great work, like if you spend a lot of time customizing your character, making sure That people can see it,” he said, adding that Gameloft hopes “it also makes more sense to have decorations around or spend hours designing the perfect outfit.” While he could only tease for now, it looks like the team wants to emphasize the social elements of bringing someone else into your village and taking them on tour. It is not yet clear whether this will include things like trading goods and working together on tasks, creating a semi-shared world.
Gameloft has been quick to update the game with both content and bug fixes, so I asked about a few specific quality-of-life features that some players are clamoring for. Namely, I mentioned more easily watering garden sprinkler systems, increasing the total number of items that can be placed in the player’s world, and streamlining the crafting and inventory chest systems. The cast teased that fans hoping for these features will be in for a treat in the future. “if you [streamline] Too much play is, in the end, less play,” he cautioned, but admitted that such features are highly desired and, at least in some cases, already in the works.
As for the Marvel and Star Wars questions, Kast smiled at the non-answer as best he could in a second conversation with him. It certainly sounds like it’s in the distant plans, but to be fair, Castett didn’t spill the beans if true. It may well be that these brands never appear in the Valley, but I think that option is at least on the table, as Castet himself told me last summer. For now, he said, the team is focused specifically on bringing more characters from Disney Animations (including Pixar) into the game, and that remains to be seen.
The game’s success also gives Gameloft more room to experiment. Castet revealed that the team had a lot of say in who would appear with Valley, and such decisions were guided by three main principles: finding new characters that would add something mechanically or visually to the game; Bringing in new, bringing in characters that serve the game. storyline, and introducing characters that are well-known. “Disney is very involved and they make suggestions, like how to interpret a character or how to make the characters interact, so it’s really cool, really collaborative,” he told me. ,” he told me.
While the team is currently focusing on the rules to decide which characters come next, Cast said that there is a future where new characters come into the game alongside their release in other media. Like a new Disney movie hero appearing in Dreamlight Valley. Time hearkens back to older licensed games — which were sometimes considered difficult to develop — but the formula here seems much more manageable. Gameloft isn’t creating entirely new games to coincide with a new Disney movie or Disney Plus series. Instead, these characters will get their own introductions, missions, and cosmetic rewards–it’s closer to Fortnite than a movie tie-in game at this point.
Sometimes, even fans use their influence to update the game’s big roster. Castet and Llewellyn revealed that Stitch, the mischievous blue alien, was always planned to arrive in the game, but his debut was actually pushed forward to appeal to many fans who wanted him in the game. were requesting. Otherwise, it’s hard to tell who the most sought-after characters have been. “The community is really diverse in its favorite characters. [We hear about] Almost every Disney character, even some really specific characters.”
The producer added that the game’s free-to-play launch is planned for this year as well, and its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass has been helpful in the meantime. “It gave us a nice boost in terms of visibility. We see a lot of people, like streamers on Twitch, jump into the game because they get it in Game Pass.” I suspect a true free-to-play launch will feel like the floodgates opening, and the cast seems reasonably excited about the future. “The great thing about this kind of IP is that there’s an infinite amount of content,” he said, “and we can imagine a lot of things, we just need time.”
The products discussed here were independently selected by our editors. GameSpot may receive a share of the revenue if you purchase anything featured on our site.