Animal Crossing: New Horizons could not have launched at a more perfect time. Initially pushed from a 2019 debut due to an extended development period, the latest and long-awaited installment in the Animal Crossing series dropped on March 20, 2020. Nintendo decided to delay the release date of Animal Crossing: New Horizons to prioritize delivering a polished game to players. With such an overhaul of in-game mechanics, the decision makes a lot of sense. However, the overwhelming success of the game and the subsequent surge in the popularity of cozy gaming were entirely unforeseen by the gaming giant. Released during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the game granted millions of players worldwide a much-needed escape from the stress of worldly news. Its popularity cemented a new era of gaming in the life-simulator market, skyrocketing player expectations and piquing player interest in cozy gaming titles.
The numbers don’t lie: with over 40 million copies sold, it is the second-best-selling Switch title of all time. And yet, despite its popularity and financial success, New Horizons did not receive the same level of long-term support as its direct predecessor. After its last major content update and the release of the Happy Home Paradise DLC in November 2021, the game was largely laid to rest. The decision to cut off major updates puzzled fans, especially considering how wildly successful New Horizons was as a title. With the announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2 launch date, silence is deafening for Animal Crossing fans. Yet, while Nintendo has been characteristically quiet about plans concerning the future of Animal Crossing, the upcoming launch of the Switch 2 may breathe hope back into a fandom starving for new content.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Addresses Switch 2 Island Transfer
Nintendo reassures Animal Crossing: New Horizons players that moving an island from the Switch to the Switch 2 will be a simple process.
A History of Delayed Starts for the Animal Crossing Series
When releasing a new console, Nintendo has a plethora of launch titles to ensure players see their latest product as a worthwhile investment. Animal Crossing has never been part of the posse of franchises to make the cut. Looking back at the release dates of past Animal Crossing titles, there is a clear pattern of delayed releases.
The titles displayed below only reflect mainline Animal Crossing titles released on a Nintendo console. Therefore, spin-off titles like Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp are excluded.
|
Animal Crossing Title |
Release Date (US) |
Relevant Console and Console Release Date (US) |
|---|---|---|
|
Animal Crossing |
September 16, 2002 |
Nintendo GameCube | November 18, 2001 |
|
Animal Crossing: Wild World |
December 5, 2005 |
Nintendo DS | November 21, 2004 |
|
Animal Crossing: City Folk |
November 16, 2008 |
Nintendo Wii | November 19, 2006 |
|
Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
June 9, 2013 |
Nintendo 3DS | March 27, 2011 |
|
Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
March 20, 2020 |
Nintendo Switch | March 3, 2017 |
Nintendo clearly tends to wait at least a year after a new console launch before releasing a mainline entry for the Animal Crossing franchise. The quickest turnaround, the release of the original title on the GameCube less than a year after the console’s launch, is a true anomaly. On average, Nintendo tends to take about two and a half years between a console launch and the release of an Animal Crossing title. So, following this pattern, it is no surprise that the latest Nintendo Direct shared no Animal Crossing news.
This timing can grant Nintendo room to refine new hardware features and allow their flagship franchises to help drive long-term sales, not just early adoption. After the lukewarm reception of City Folk for the Wii, Nintendo learned that every new Animal Crossing game has to reinvent itself to live up to the franchise’s genre-defining legacy. But New Horizons changed the game, literally and figuratively. It proved the franchise could reach the upper echelon of Nintendo’s most trustworthy IPs, pulling in casual and core gamers alike. That changes the calculus of what Animal Crossing can do for a console launch and what a console launch can do for Animal Crossing. The franchise could see a revitalization if it breaks the cycle of delayed releases—some may say that the franchise could be turning over a new leaf.
New Horizons Might Have Accelerated the Timeline
It’s not hard to imagine Nintendo taking the massive success of New Horizons as a reason to move faster on the next entry. The game's performance showed just how powerful Animal Crossing can be as a system seller. Since the Nintendo Switch 2 is scheduled for a June 2025 launch, getting a new Animal Crossing into players’ hands would make strategic sense. This time, Nintendo could deliver the game as a key pillar of the console’s early life rather than a mid-lifecycle booster.
Why Updates Could Have Suddenly Paused for New Horizons
During a Nintendo Direct in 2021, Nintendo announced the release of the Happy Home Paradise DLC scheduled for November 2021. Just over a year after the launch of New Horizons, fans were excited to see new content for the game that helped them overcome some of the turmoil of 2020. However, Nintendo also made it clear in that Direct that it would be the final major content update for the game. This decision came as a surprise to many, serving as a direct juxtaposition to the financial success of the title.
The lack of continued seasonal content or gameplay expansions left many players feeling that the game had been abandoned too soon. Especially if fans were to compare the support New Leaf received, with brand deals and tie-ins that set a new standard for the franchise. However, an early cutoff on updates might have been a strategic pivot rather than an oversight. Nintendo may have reallocated resources away from continued New Horizons updates in favor of beginning development on the next mainline game, one that could take advantage of the Switch 2’s hardware and performance capabilities. In that light, the abrupt end to updates isn't a sign of neglect but rather a sign of ambition: the quiet beginning of a next-gen Animal Crossing experience.
A New Animal Crossing Makes for the Perfect Anniversary Gift
Perhaps the biggest reason fans should remain hopeful is the fact that this upcoming year is an important one for Animal Crossing as a franchise. 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the original Animal Crossing's release in Japan—back when it was still called Doubutsu no Mori (translated: “Animal Forest”). Doubutsu no Mori is also the name of a Japanese Animal Crossing film. Nintendo loves a good milestone celebration. There could be no better way to commemorate a quarter-century of Animal Crossing than by launching a brand-new game. The timing could line up brilliantly: a 2025 hardware launch, followed by a 2026 Animal Crossing release celebrating the franchise’s legacy while ushering in a new era.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- March 20, 2020
- ESRB
- Everyone / Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Expansions
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
