New Free-to-Play Steam Game is The Sims Pushing Disney Dreamlight Valley out of its Neighborhood

2025 has been a bit of a mixed bag for the cozy genre. While Stardew Valley has an exciting 1.7 update planned, it’s unclear when it will actually release, and the same goes for ConcernedApe’s Haunted Chocolatier, with it being a fairly quiet year for fans of the developer. And though the enjoyable Hello Kitty: Island Adventure reached a larger audience via Steam and PlayStation, Tamagotchi Plaza let fans down by focusing entirely on mini-games, and Tales of the Shire failed to live up to its potential both mechanically and visually. Fortunately, The Sims 4 and Disney Dreamlight Valley have held down the fort through updates and expansions, though both games could have some competition on the horizon via Heartopia.