Disney Dreamlight Valley has made me even sadder that Nintendo gave up on Animal Crossing: New Horizons

gamesradar.com:

It's pretty common for one game to remind you of another. After all, as humans we are consistently making comparisons. But, it's a rather odd sensation for one game to make you actually lament another – and such is the case for me with Disney Dreamlight Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Gameloft's latest venture is so reminiscent of New Horizons' island life that it's made me even more disappointed that Nintendo effectively abandoned the title. 

Maybe that's harsh, right? But Nintendo had a unique opportunity with Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It was a game that launched at an accidentally perfect time, offering the ultimate idyllic escapism from a real-world dealing with a global pandemic that kept the majority of us confined within our homes. The core Animal Crossing community lapped up the new title as expected, but the title also reached an audience of such size and scale that no-one – especially Nintendo – could ever have predicted. 

For me, not continuing to support and feed a community so hungry for additional content over the years that followed launch always felt like a shame. That's even more palpable when we look at a game like Disney Dreamlight Valley. Launching earlier this month in Early Access via Game Pass for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, but also as a premium, paid-for Disney Dreamlight Valley Founders Pack on Switch, Steam, and PS5 / PS4, the game will eventually be free-to-play on all platforms sometime in 2023. 

Just a few weeks out from launch and Gameloft has already confirmed a roadmap for what the rest of 2022 looks like for early adopters of the title. That includes two fall updates – one to add Scar from The Lion King and more to the core storyline, and another, larger drop that'll