Overview
- Number of Players
- 1 (Single Player) (8 Player Online)
- Genre
- Release Date
Nintendo Switch
20th Mar 2020
20th Mar 2020
- Also Available On
- Series
- Tags
- Upgrade To
-
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition features enhanced resolution, faster load times, mouse control support for faster and easier decorating, a megaphone for calling your animal residents that uses the system microphone, and more.
• If you and your friends all have the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, you can share your island in 12-player sessions online—and with CameraPlay and GameChat support, you can see and hear their reactions in real time!
- Addons / DLC
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise DLC
- Official Site
- nintendo.com
Reviews
Review Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch) - An Approachable And Addictive Masterpiece
The shores of Bell
Back when – what feels like forever ago – we found out that a new Animal Crossing game would be coming to Switch, we were told basically diddly squat about the whole thing, but excitement ensued nonetheless. As time went by and we learnt more and more about it, the hype reached ever higher rungs on the big ladder of...
DLC Reviews
Review Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise DLC (Switch) - A Slice Of Designer Heaven
The 3DS spin-off concept finds its true home
Back when Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer was released on 3DS it was considered by some to be a slightly strange beast. It was enjoyable and charming enough, but its main issue was that it was a tough sell as a standalone retail game. Once you took the plunge it was a lovely time, but the...
Screenshots 18
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Guides
Guide Animal Crossing: New Horizons Guide - Walkthrough, Tips And Hints
Bugs! Fish! Tools! Bells! Blathers!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons slowly but surely took over many of our lives when it launched in 2020, but if you're at a loss for what to do next in the game, then you should check out the tips and hints we've outlined below. So, sit back and relax as we'll take away the stress of your new island. Let's begin...
Guide Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Art - How To Spot Redd's Fake Painting And Statues
Pick out the real deals from the fakes, cousin
Pre-launch, there was much speculation that wily art dealer Crazy Redd would be selling his wares in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and following update v1.2.0, Crazy Redd returned along with the ability to expand your
Guide Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Best Custom Design Codes - Zelda, Mario, Pokémon and More
Deck yourself out in the best designs the web has to offer
The ability to make and share your own custom designs in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (or import designs from Animal Crossing: New Leaf via the NookLink app) has given the Animal Crossing community another chance to showcase its creativity. The results have been impressive, most impressive...
Guide Animal Crossing: New Horizons: May Fish And Bugs - Catch These Critters Before June 1st
All the insects and fish disappearing from New Horizons at the end of the month
Every month in Animal Crossing: New Horizons a selection of the game's 80 fish, 80 bugs and
Guide Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Islands - Get Inspired By The Best Islands We've Seen So Far
Putting our meagre island efforts to shame
Since Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched back in March 2020, a large community of gamers have been sharing incredible custom designs created for the game, and they've only gotten more impressive since the launch of the Happy Home Paradise DLC. However, perhaps even more impressive are the amazing lan
Guide Every Animal Crossing Amiibo Card For New Horizons And New Leaf
Welcome, amiibo!
Looking for info on the six extra Sanrio amiibo cards? They're so special we've given them their own Animal Crossing Sanrio amiibo card guide. All others can be found below, including the newest additions in the Series 5 set — enjoy!
Trout of luck
There are several rare fish to find in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and the Golden Trout is certainly one of them. It's only available for six months of the year (that's two three-month spells) and then only in one very specific location on your island. If you're wondering how, when and where to catch the Golden Trout, just follow the...
It’s all coming up (hybrid) roses
No Animal Crossing: New Horizons island would be complete without a dash of floral colour. Thankfully, there are flowers aplenty to choose from right from the start of the game and, if you’re clever about it, lots of rare hybrid varieties as well. But how do you go about growing flowers and breeding hybrids?...
Update: You can now "search by name"!
Since Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched back in March 2020, we've seen some really incredible islands appear online and looked on enviously at idyllic rural escapes, urban metropolises using intricate custom designs, themed villages and much more besides. They certainly put our clu
Guide Animal Crossing: New Horizons: How To Get A 5-Star Island Rating And Grow Lily Of The Valley
Written in the stars - and Isabelle's evaluation notes
In every iteration of Animal Crossing, there has always been some form of rating system in place to judge how well players organize and take care of their towns. These evaluations have become increasingly more complicated with each entry — and New Horizons is no different. Whether you're...
Guide Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Sharks - Where, When And How To Catch Every Shark
Shark season is in session
Sharks only appear for a few months out of the year in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which makes them fairly rare and highly sought after! If you're wondering how, when, and where to catch the Great White Shark, Hammerhead Shark, Saw Shark, and or Whale Shark, just follow the steps below and you'll have them hooked faster...
All the fishy facts you need to complete your Critterpedia
If you're looking for information about fish in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you've come to the right place. We've compiled a complete Animal Crossing: New Horizons fish list featuring a gallery of every fish and underwater creature in the game. We've also included some basic fishing tips...
Accessibility Features 19
- Gameplay
- Assists
- Controls
- Visual
- Audio
- Content
- More Details
Accessibility data by Family Gaming Database
Animal Crossing: New Horizons News
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (29th November)
Prime time is right around the corner
The end of November is finally upon us (how??), so let's distract ourselves from the topic of ever-marching time by seeing what everyone's gaming plans are this weekend. It was a somewhat quieter week in Nintendo Land this time, but there were still a few nice stories to keep us entertained. Nintendo picked up...
Random Takaya Imamura's Animal Crossing Design Skills Put Our Best Efforts To Shame
Posterizer
We're no strangers to a good old Takaya Imamura social media post here at Nintendo Life. Whether it's his wishes for a Star Fox revitalisation or his dreams of future movie adaptations, the former Nintendo dev is always on hand to give us something to think about. But today, all that's on our minds is how inadequate our Ani
News Nintendo's Dishing Out In-Game Codes For Festive Animal Crossing: New Horizons Sweaters
'Tis the season
November might not be in the rear-view mirror yet, but Nintendo's already feeling festive with its new range of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in-game Christmas jumpers (or sweaters, if you'd prefer). If you want to deck out your New Horizons avatar in the holiday gear, you can pick up all three custom designs by heading to the...
News Here Are The Top Ten Best-Selling Nintendo Switch Games As Of September 2025
Plus a brief look at, uh... two Switch 2 games
As part of Nintendo's latest financial release, the company has provided an updated look at the top ten best-selling Switch games – plus a brief look at where things stand with the Switch 2. All in all, there's not a whole lot to report on with the OG Switch. The numbers are all gradually going up,...
News Nintendo Music Updated To Version 1.4.0, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Including an update for Animal Crossing tracks
[Fri 31st Oct, 2025 01:55 GMT]: In case you missed it, this week marks the first anniversary of the Nintendo Music mobile app for Switch Online subscribers. Nintendo already rolled out a music update earlier this week - adding the DS soundtrack New Super Mario Bros. and it's now apparently released a...
Poll So, Will You Be Getting Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition?
A paid upgrade pack will also be released
Nintendo this week surprised its fans with the announcement of Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. If you didn't already catch the video, this paid upgrade pack is not just improved resolution and graphics, but it will also come with mouse controls, a Megaphone and expanded online...
Go on, tell us
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting a Switch 2 Edition next January, and alongside this, Nintendo will be releasing the next major update for the game, bumping it up to Version 3.0.0. Now that everyone has had time to absorb all of the news, it's got us wondering what you're most excited for – is it the Switch 2 upgrade in...
News Retro Nintendo Games Are Returning To Animal Crossing (Sort Of)
One game per system
As you've no doubt seen, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting another massive update early next year, along with a Switch 2 Edition with the expected enhancements (Mouse Mode, wooo). But amongst all the Bells and whistles announced, you might have missed the news that retro Nintendo games are also returning to the series...
News Animal Crossing: New Horizons Is Getting Collabs With Lego, Splatoon, And Zelda
3.whoa
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has just revealed that it's getting an absolutely huge update on 15th January 2026 alongside a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. It's stuffed full of new features, characters, and an entire hotel. But maybe the biggest update comes in the form of some brand new collaborations. First up, after several successful sets of...
News Surprise! Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Arrives Next Year
Alongside a new free update
Nintendo has announced that Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will be arriving alongside a new free Ver. 3.0 update on 15th January. The Switch 2 Edition includes all sorts of new features to make the most of the new console. There's Mouse Mode integration for improved home layout and clothing...
Previews
Hands On Dipping Into Island Life In Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Book with the Nook
Animal Crossing games don’t come around all that often – at least not mainline games – so it’s hardly an understatement to say that hype surrounding Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a touch feverish recently. Well, we were lucky enough to get our hands on i
About The Game
Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Players embark on an ultra-exclusive Nook Inc. Deserted Island Getaway Package and enjoy a peaceful existence full of creativity, charm and the freedom to roll up their sleeves and make their new life whatever they want it to be. Players can collect resources they can craft into everything from creature comforts to handy tools as they set up a homestead they can decorate freely, both inside and out. The game is scheduled to launch on 20th March, 2020.












































Comments 40
Please release this now
Can we get a release date? We've only been waiting for a new AC game for 6 years...
Please just a release date that all i ask
I'd groan about the game being delayed to March 2020, but I have other games to look forward to this year. So, I can wait...
March 20th is a long wait, but like @StephenYap3 said, we have solid titles to keep us entertained for the rest of the year.
Hype train starts here, and will be chugging along for the next 9 months, LETS GOOO!
Is it just me, or does this sound like that mini-game in AC:NL, mixed with regular Animal Crossing. Either way sounds like a game I need.
@Dakkpac64 you mean Desert Island Escape? It's almost nothing like that, but I see what you're coming from.
Yes! That minigame! Only a little bit of it sounds like that though. But yes!
March can't come soon enough D:
@DAHstroy IKR
THAT LONG FOR THE NEW AC, I CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG
@CodyMKW Yeah it's annoying
it's great that all of us can just discuss about this in 1 chat without any trolls since there's only 8 people in this chat (including me)
@mordecai lol
soon be here!!! Can't wait roll on March 20th UK.
Being able to customize the landscape? Take my money now.
Can’t wait!!! Got it downloaded ready to play!!! I want to play now!!! Lol
I do not understand the hype over the visuals on this game. The graphics look overly cartoony and the use of MII characters instead of realistic player models is beyond ridiculous to me. I have never played a single Animal Crossing game for the same reason. When I learned that a "modern" game was coming to the Swtich, I was excited. BUT this game clearly is not for me! I wanted to love this game as much as I loved Stardew Valley, but I cannot simply get past these childish visuals. I don't understand how anyone over the age of 18 could even find enjoyment in this. Mind you, my gaming days date back to NES - so I have seen my share of bad graphics. This game seems needlessly cartoony and the use of Miis is off-putting to say the least. I expected so much more from a modern game and I have been let down. Nothing about these visuals excite me and make me even think about opening my wallet. No thank you Nintendo, I will pass!
MUST READ THIS IF YOUR NEW TO THE GAME. Letting everyone know that you can only have 1 island on one switch console, it doesnt matter if you switch between profiles you still stuck with one island. You will need a new switch console for another island. I'm not sure if a game card version and a downloaded version on the same console will work.
@J-Plap it should have that game as a tour. Now that will be something worth to play with others online.
Hey😁 I want to play w someone
I am really disappointed with what seems to be a lack of effort in the online multiplayer part of ACNH. In New Leaf, you could go to a random island and meet literally random people and play mini games. You would think they would beef up this part and make it more fun. No, they decided to scrap it completely. I loved joining Japanese players rooms! Now I can't do that
@Mr_Persona DEFINITELY
Animal Crossing is everything you could ever want and expect, its lovely, cute characters, and lots of grinding! only thing i will leave bad about it is that if you buy it online expecting to play with your switch and switch lite to play with your family, expect it to be pricey as you WILL have to purchase ANOTHER of the same game depending on how many switches you got so you can play together at the same time and have your own island (thats more than 100dls per household) way to go.
If you ever try playing this game with more than 1 local player you will quickly realize how bad this game is. The second local player is unable to progress the game at all, gets way less rewards, and is essentially just a useless character who has no involvement in the world.
Players should all be equal so that the game can be enjoyed by everyone.
It’s like nintendo forgot that their consoles are essentially family consoles which multiple people play on. Now I can’t really even enjoy the game because I share it with my sister and I wanted her to have a good time playing so I let her play first. Now im pretty much useless on the island other than being there and im not going to delete my little sisters save just because I want to be able to progress through the game. Nintendo really let me down on this one.
HEY! Island open to visitors. I'm in the Southern Hemisphere! Code 2117.
@Alanyi Do you have an online Dodo Code? The 4 digits are for local play (only people connected to your WiFi!).
Totally worth the wait!
It's The Banjo-Threeie I Wanted!
Best game of 2020
@Newhorizonslover I'm also looking for someone to play with! Feel free to add me!! I've only had my Switch for almost 3 months, so I'm a noob. However I've been playing Animal Crossing since the original GC version.
My friend code is: SW-7467-4560-0126
Dream Address: 7369-7001-9105
Island Name: Celestia
Character Name: Luna
@DarriusBanjo1998 Me tooie!!!! I love, love, LOVE, BK!!!! I still have my N64 and all my games! They promised us Banjo Threeie! Or at least Grunty did. I'm still waiting for Banjo Threeie!
I haven't bothered to play it for almost a year now. It's not really a fun game to play by myself because I have no one to share my island design with.
The DLC did improve the base game though by adding additional activities that don't just involve collecting resources and island design. You get to design schools and design villager homes that cater to the villager's unique personality. the DLC was a breath of fresh air.
@DAHstroy I KNOW!!!!!!!!! so fun
I love this gameeeeeeeeee
I play Animal Crossing New Horizons every day I really love this game
This game is such a calming experience catching fish and insects and meeting friends
It's a good game for a while but can get very repetitive.
please new game video animal crossing?
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