Animal Crossing

Lore & Background

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the player controls a character who moves to a deserted island after purchasing a getaway package from Tom Nook. The player accomplishes assigned tasks and develops the island as they choose, gathering and crafting items, customizing the island, and developing it into a community of anthropomorphic animals. The game is played in real time, with weather adjusting to the seasons of the Northern or Southern Hemisphere depending on the player's real-world location, a first for the Animal Crossing series. The player starts with two other random anthropomorphic villagers that also purchased the getaway package. When sufficient progress is made, Tom Nook gives more freedom for expanding the village. Other shop owners visit and settle on the island: museum-owner Blathers, who displays fish, bugs, sea creatures, fossils, and art; sisters Mabel and Sable, who sell clothing and accessories; and Timmy and Tommy, who run Nook's Cranny. The main area expands to a Town Hall run by Tom Nook with the help of Isabelle. When a three-star island rating is achieved, K.K. Slider visits and performs a concert, marking the 'end' of the game as the credits roll. The game supports one island per Switch system, with up to four players locally and eight players online able to occupy an island at any given time.

Reader's Guide

The Animal Crossing series is significant for its innovative use of real-time gameplay and its emphasis on customization and open-ended exploration. In New Horizons, the player is given open access to natural resources such as fruit and wood, which can be collected and crafted into a variety of items through D.I.Y. crafting. Alongside crafting, players can catch bugs and fish, plant and grow trees and flowers, extract natural resources such as rocks, and swim in the ocean to catch deep-sea creatures. Doing simple tasks rewards the player with 'Nook Miles', which can be used to purchase premium rewards in Resident Services, such as furniture, recipes, and clothing. The other currency 'Bells' can be used to purchase other goods and services. Through Dodo Airlines and tickets purchased through Nook Miles, the player can visit other vacant islands to harvest resources and meet other villagers. The game received frequent updates adding new seasonal items, events, and gameplay features. The version 2.0 update added returning characters Kapp'n, Brewster, and Harvey, along with new activities like Mystery tours, Brewster's cafe The Roost located in the museum, and Harvey's Plaza with new purchasable items. Paid downloadable content titled Happy Home Paradise was released on November 5, 2021, allowing players to design vacation homes for villagers. An enhanced port for the Nintendo Switch 2 was released on January 15, 2026, alongside the 3.0 update, which added a new resort hotel, slumber islands, quality of life improvements, and new collaboration items featuring Lego, The Legend of Zelda, and Splatoon.

Did You Know?

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons broke the console game record for most digital units sold in a single month.
• The game's commercial success has been attributed in part to its release amid global stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• New Horizons is the best-selling game of all time in Japan.
• The game has been used as a substitute for social interactions such as weddings and graduation ceremonies, as well as political campaigning and virtual protests.
• The 2.0 update, released on November 3, 2021, was announced as the last free update to the game.