It has now been more than two years since Animal Crossing New Horizons was released on Nintendo Switch, propelling the license to the forefront of the video game scene and exploding sales records at a time when confinement and masks were everyday life around the world. I won't repeat the story to you, but ACNH very quickly became one of the best-selling video games in the world and has benefited from many updates over the years. The most recent was November 2021 and kickstarted a new wave of hype on the game with the addition of much-awaited gamer features like Robusto and his Café, Admiral and his Mystery Islands, Vegetable Growing and Cooking , Astrid the seer and so on. Taking advantage of the success, Nintendo even took the opportunity to release a paid DLC called Happy Home Paradise, which is much more like an entire game (like its predecessor on the 3DS) than an extension.
In short, a wealth of new content and hundreds of new pieces of furniture to satiate players by always asking for more. Unfortunately, this big 2.0 update and the DLC also marked the end of ACNH , or at least its development. From then on, no more content updates will be released as officially announced by Nintendo. Still, fans aren't losing hope.
Animal Crossing New Horizons: can we expect new features in the game?
As explained above, this is very unlikely. Although dataminers have spotted signs of a second floor for the Nook Store, for example, the trail of another major update, like November's, is highly unlikely . Even a very small content update would be unthinkable after Nintendo's words, even to surprise the players (when we see the great surprises we had for the 1 year of the game and this year for the 2 years. ..)
Clearly, I sincerely think that we must stop hoping for new content for ACNH , even if it breaks my heart as this game could be absolutely perfect with a few final touches. But that's not the point. If New Horizons is over, what's next for the Animal Crossing license?
Animal Crossing: what will be the next game?
If like me you've been a fan of Animal Crossing since at least its GameCube release in 2004, you know that the wait between the different opuses is not that long, especially when the releases of the main games are interspersed with small spins. -off various and varied. We will probably not escape it on Nintendo Switch. Why wouldn't the best-selling Nintendo console of all time also receive an Amiibo Festival or whatever? To refresh your memory, here is a little history of Animal Crossing outings:
The main games
- 2001: Dobotsu no Mori for Nintendo 64 in Japan only,
- 2001: Dobotsu no Mori+ on GameCube in Japan only,
- 2002: Animal Crossing (port of Dobotsu no Mori+) on GameCube in North America only,
- 2004: Animal Crossing on GameCube in Europe,
- 2005: Animal Crossing Wild World on Nintendo DS worldwide,
- 2008: Animal Crossing Let's Go to the City on Wii everywhere in the world (with the famous Wii Speak that nobody used),
- 2012: Animal Crossing New Leaf on Nintendo 3DS everywhere in the world then big update Welcome Amiibo,
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2020: Animal Crossing New Horizons on Nintendo Switch worldwide
You notice, there has simply been a main Animal Crossing game on every new Nintendo console. The longest wait is logically between the 3DS (2012) and the Switch (2020). Fortunately, this long wait was able to be optimized by a few spin-offs.
The spin-offs
- 2013: Animal Crossing Plaza on Wii U (small app)
- 2015: Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer on Nintendo 3DS,
- 2015: Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival on Wii U
- 2017: Animal Crossing Pocket Camp on mobiles,
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2021: Happy Home Paradise (New Horizons DLC) on Nintendo Switch
If my calculations are correct, since 2001, we are therefore entitled to 1 game or 1 spin-off every three years maximum for Animal Crossing. The only exception being between the releases of the opus on Wii and that on 3DS (4 years). If you follow my reasoning, we can therefore widely expect, in 2023, a new spin-off of Animal Crossing. However, ACNH's DLC shouldn't be considered a spin-off as that would make the wait a bit longer.
Nintendo Direct: The announcement of a new Animal Crossing game for 2023?
I tell you right away, in my opinion it is impossible for a new Animal Crossing game to see the light of day before the arrival of the next Nintendo console. On the other hand, we are not immune to yet another spin-off on the Switch. In June, the famous summer video game conferences are an opportunity for all publishers to announce their next flagship releases for 2022 and 2023. Nintendo will certainly not miss the call with its usual forty-minute Direct. Zelda Breath of the Wild 2, Bayonetta 3, Metroid Prime 4, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet... Many highly anticipated games will of course be presented but we could, why not, have a little teaser of the next Animal Crossing spin-off.
Now it remains to imagine what it could be. An Amiibo Festival on Switch? I find it hard to imagine Nintendo making the same mistake as on Wii U. And how about a kind of Minecraft in creative mode where players would be really free to create whatever they want? (even better if survival is added: forced to eat fruit to be satisfied, to fish, to face the terrible boss Tom Nook... How am I getting carried away?). In short, do not hesitate to give me your hopes for the future of Animal Crossing in comments but one thing is certain: after the success of ACNH, Nintendo will never give up such a successful license.
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