Summary
- Disney Pixel RPG will have a global release in more than a dozen countries, starting with Japan.
- Brand recognition from Disney gives Disney Pixel RPG an advantage in the crowded mobile RPG market.
- The game has a similar tone to Disney Illusion Island and offers an entry-level RPG for a wide audience.
Disney Pixel RPG is the latest in the recent wave of noteworthy Disney games being released across multiple different platforms. The self-published work of Japanese developer GungHo Online Entertainment, this fast-paced mobile title combines the worlds of some of Disney’s major animated properties. It looks to carve its own niche in the phone-based RPG market.
GungHo has also made plans to make Disney Pixel RPG available globally, as it’s currently looking to release in 18 countries. Disney Pixel RPG is set to have its initial soft launch in Japan before it expands worldwide. No matter how long it takes, getting Disney Pixel RPG out for a worldwide release feels like a no-brainer, and it’s the type of game that will benefit from being available in as many territories as possible.
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Disney Pixel RPG Deserves An International Launch
Disney’s Brand Recognition Helps In A Crowded Market
Admittedly, Disney Pixel RPG is entering into an oversaturated sector of the video game market. Mobile RPGs have been dropping every other minute, and there’s the potential for a game like Disney Pixel RPG to get lost in such a crowded landscape. Furthermore, with titles like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail being as popular as they are, it can be hard to enter a market dominated by such games.
Still, Disney Pixel RPG enters with the advantage that other mobile RPGs don't quite have: some of the greatest brand recognition any video game could have. Disney is one of the most recognizable companies in the entertainment world, and Disney's characters and worlds are household names across the globe. It feels like Disney dominates in almost any geographical market that it enters into, and its use of popular IP could do wonders for Disney Pixel RPG's success.
Disney-Branded Crossovers Have Proven Fruitful Lately
To that end, the Mouse House has already seen major success with a more general Disney-branded game over the last few years with Disney Dreamlight Valley. Sure, that’s a fairly different title than Disney Pixel RPG - being more of a life simulation title - but the massive success that it saw early and often showed that there is a massive appetite for Disney titles that cross over the company’s major franchises. This bodes well for Disney Pixel RPG, which should buoy that crossover appeal with its abundance of IPs both old and new.
It should also be noted that, while Disney Dreamlight Valley had a much larger release across multiple platforms, it did see a release on mobile devices. It may not have seen all of its success on mobile phones, but its release on iOS shows that Disney crossover games can find an audience on mobile devices. With Disney Pixel RPG also being a free-to-play game unlike Dreamlight Valley, it’s a game that will be easy to jump into and play for gamers across the globe.
It feels like Disney dominates in almost any geographical market that it enters into, and its use of popular IP could do wonders for Disney Pixel RPG’s success.
Disney Pixel RPG Has The Look Of Disney Illusion Island
Tonally, Disney Pixel RPG should also be familiar to Disney fans who have played another recent title starring the company's characters, Disney Illusion Island. Its gameplay may not be too similar to a 2D platformer like Illusion Island, but it appears to be going for the same lighthearted style of the Nintendo Switch title. Thus, Disney Pixel RPG should carry a similar all-ages appeal as an entry-level RPG for a wide audience.
Disney Pixel RPG appears to be a unique game on the mobile market, even with the sheer amount of RPG games that it will slide in next to. Even so, GungHo Online Entertainment would be wise to release the game in as many markets as possible to help it earn a wider audience. It’s the kind of game that has a wide-reaching audience appeal, and an international launch should give it an even greater chance of becoming a massive success.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 75 /100 Critics Rec: 77%
WHERE TO PLAY
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a hybrid between a life-sim and an adventure game rich with quests, exploration, and engaging activities featuring Disney and Pixar friends, both old and new.
Once an idyllic land, Dreamlight Valley was a place where Disney and Pixar characters lived in harmony—until the Forgetting. Night Thorns grew across the land and severed the wonderful memories tied to this magical place. With nowhere else to go, the hopeless inhabitants of Dreamlight Valley retreated behind locked doors in the Dream Castle.Now it’s up to you to discover the stories of this world and bring the magic back to Dreamlight Valley.
Free the Dream Castle from the insidious grip of the Forgetting, and unlock the unique Realms of well-loved Disney and Pixar characters, including great queens and kings such as Anna and Simba. Each Realm contains unique challenges with puzzles to solve in the quest to bring friendship back to the Valley.
You’ll start your adventure in the Valley, but your journey will take you to infinity… and beyond! Explore what lurks in the Forest of Valor and brave the deepest caverns as you take on challenges from iconic Disney and Pixar heroes and villains. Who knows who—or what—you might discover.
- Engine
- unity
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Cross Save
- All platforms (requires purchasing the game separately on each platform)
- Franchise
- Disney
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, iOS
- Genre(s)
- Life Simulation, Casual
- How Long To Beat
- 33 Hours
