Don't Worry, Nintendo "Absolutely" Has Plans For Animal Crossing: New Horizons Going Forward

I’m still waiting for Zelda Anniversary items.

A second smaller island that you can travel to by plane and build stuff on.

My wife was a really committed player but a little before the first anniversary she moved on because lack of novelty and event repeating themselves… Unless the content is substantially more than anything added so far I don’t see her going back to it regularly… Too little too late I guess..

Well, they confirmed updates, but didn't confirm content for said updates. Probably just going to be holiday and event refreshes while adding new items to the in game shop.. instead of actually giving us features and content that people want.

Here's hoping that the next game will end up better...

He said it so it must be true. Lol

I think/kinda hope it's Covid's fault that the updates have been so barebones over the last year. I can't imagine they planned for the third shop upgrade to have taken over a year and a half to come out, much less any other shops or new villagers or really anything at all besides the dream suite and a dozen or so new items every few months. 20 minutes of Holiday themed fetch quests doesn't cut it. The game launched with enough content to keep me engaged for around 800 hours which really helped me get through quarantine last year so I can't complain too much but I also am left with a sense of incompleteness because the last games came with so much more, sans the terraforming and outside furniture. All I'm really asking for is a little better communication, I know I already got my $60 worth and then some but my time investment seems to not be being treated respectfully.

They need to put up or shut up as far as I'm concerned.

I played a ton. I tried to keep going while thinking something substantial was right around the corner. It just didn't happen and I finally got burned out, bored, and gave up. It's going to have to be really big to get me to go back at this point.

There are plenty of other games to play.

@Yanina or better yet, travel to by Kapp’n.

"What Animal Crossing: New Horizons updates would you like to see in the future?"

Well, a lot of wishes from me:
1. Interactive objects like The Sims / My Sims. From cooking a meal, watching TV, playing video games, taking a bath, etc.
2. More commercial buildings such as hotel, spa, fitness gym, cafe, police office, Opera house, Club KK, etc. And we can have part time job over there by playing mini games.
3. Island expansion so we can travel into different island to discover rare items and new NPC.
4. Extra Save slot so we can create multiple island.
5. More farming crops such as tomato, corn, cucumber, cabbage, etc. And we can make some dishes from vegetables / fruits.
6. Happy Home Designer office with Lottie and Digby in charge so we can remake the villager's house both exterior and interior.
7. Open yard sale or flea market and villagers can buy your stuff when they approach you.
8. Cooking and recipes. You can eat them for extra energy to scoop out trees / breaking the rock, you can also sell the foods or drinks by open your own cafe / restaurant.
9. Rideable vehicles from bicycle, cars, motorcycle, boat, hot air balloon, etc.
10. More purchaseable natural objects such as wild plants, fern, exotic trees, stones, ivy, etc.

Don't even have this game, so Maybe I will buy it after.

I pumped over 50 hours into this game in three weeks, got to the end credits, and stopped. I was satisfied with my experience and wanted to move on to other games.

I want to be able to go to other islands and shop and grab fauna without having to know them. They could make it so I could do stuff and it would
Not in any way upset the person island. Like you can choose people can come to my island in the option and then people would. Instead of needing dodo codes or dreams where you can’t do anything.

I'm at a point again where i can't continue my island because i ran out of design slots (again). Just stop limiting it! Or set a cap like 500. 50 was bad, 100 is a tiny bit better but i need more. Just that would probably give me another 200-300 of time waste doing my thing.

Add more stuff to grow. Reduze the hitbox of items by 50% so i don't act like a super conductor around them. More plant items (cmon, the damn musem already has 1000x cool plants in pots). Let me hang wall stuff on cliffs and use carpets outside!

So much potential, wasted because nintendon't.

I won a digital copy of this game in a contest.

Still feels like it was ultimately a waste. Glad I didn't pay full price.

The update I want the most is WHEN WILL THEY FIX THE FIRMWARE UPDATE.

I haven't updated my switch but I am afraid of the errors from the new update

I spent a lot of time playing this game, but its easily the most barebones Animal Crossing to date. It's missing so many key things that made the older entries so enjoyable.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say this game feels like early access

ACNH definitely needs additional content to enliven the multiplayer experience. There are many features from past entries that can be brought back. I'm clamoring for mini-games and the return of The Roost. Cmon Nintendo, make it happen.

@Dingelhopper It effectively is an early access game priced at full price..

I probably won't go back to playing it to much, unless they add something that will be worth going back to playing on it.
let's hope they surprise us!

I don’t believe it

@VoidofLight It's almost worse than an early access game. At least they receive significant updates after a year. Meanwhile ACNH feels nearly identical to when it first came out lol. It's even worse when you consider just how well the game has sold

I’ve put down all persistent games except Olive town but that is because the backlog is the size of a mountain. Will come back to AC in a year or so.

So glad i didn't waste my time or money on this game.

If you can actually call it a game, it's more like a demo, from what i hear, it hasn't been touched since they released it.

I'm happy for the millions who love this game and this series, but it does absolutely nothing for me.

@kingbk If this was your first one, you should probably try New Leaf. It has less quality of Life features, due to being older, but it's still pretty fun, and I personally enjoy it more.

@Dingelhopper
In contrary, i think ACNH is better than ACNL in term of bulding sim and keep the villagers forever. I can time travel anytime i want without afraid of losing my villagers. There are some missing contents in ACNH but overall i really like with contents from ACNH.

What about mario kart can we get an update on that

@kingbk k?

I'm sure they're working on new items for next spring's Bunny Day event because ... you know ... one never gets enough of shooting down balloons and crafting stuff.

Put over 500 hours into, haven't touched it in a couple of weeks now so probably giving it to my niece and nephew, can't imagine what it would take to have me play again. As in, I really don't know b/c it was my first AC game so I don't know what's missing.🤷

@brandonbwii They confirmed they aren't coming so you better move on.

Great! I have over a 1200 hrs but finally got my island perfect and have finally taken a break. Will come back once there are updates

I would like to see activities in a birthday party such as pin the tail on the donkey, bopping apples, and eat cake. also a raffle of winning bells and items in the Nook's cranny would be lovely.

Unless they add back the Welcome amiibo characters like W. Link and the Squirrel Villagers based off the Squid Sisters and some new ones, or expand the Island to allow more Villagers and places to customize, I don't really care. Little late for me to care about Brewster or something similar at this point.

That's one way to reveal that over half of Nintendo Switch owners have Animal Crossing 😲

Little late for me...
Saying they have more content planned is like asking us to wait for dinner to be made, but only serve a cold poptart. Either advertise specifically a main course or admit that only unfilling snacks are on the menu.

A lot of that 33ish million has moved on, and it'll take a minor miracle to bring back more than a fraction of that. Missed the main ACNH boat Nintendo, no amount of paddling in a dingy will allow you to catch up again.

This game became a holiday simulator. Like, yay? Think of all the town development games on mobile that are constantly getting new buildings and characters and stuff and compare that to a game that's got a way bigger budget and way more players, it just doesn't make sense.

well thats a nice gesture. but after a year of just new items with barren QOL improvements or features, my expectations died out a long time ago

@Dingelhopper For someone who only played a little bit of AC on the DS, could you explain what are those "key elements"? I'm curious

The event farthest into the future mentioned in the April update is a Bug Off on September 25th so it's probably a reasonable guess that the next Animal Crossing update is in September/October.

Oooh yeah, didn't notice there was no animal crossing at E3. My interest has somewhat waned since going past the 1 year mark having collected all bugs, fish, sea creatures and DIYs. Mostly I pop in to pick up weeds

"What Animal Crossing: New Horizons updates would you like to see in the future?"

Uhhh... I hate this question, because it call only complainers to the front, who cry and moan how empty and boring this game is.

To me, updates will come, that I'm sure of it, but it will take some time and honestly, you can bombard a game with stuff like The Sims and get overloaded and bloat it like crazy to the point, where this game is no longer fun.

I maybe don't need much from a game like Animal Crossing, but that is my opinion. I can't and won't speak for others. I only play it for 1 or 2 hours per day and make a break from time to time, but I feel that keeps the flow for this game for me. Just like a Tamagotchi.

It makes to release Zelda DLC for the 35th anniversary. Just because Aonuma said they aren't working sadly on Zelda titles for the celebration does not mean that they aren't working on DLC for other games like Animal Crosskng New Horizons, Pocket Camp, or Mario Kart mobile.

So far the 2nd year has just been a repeat of the first year and that's just not enough to keep me engaged anymore unfortunately.

I actually took a very long break--I missed out on the first summer, basically. So I've been catching up/filling up what I missed right now. I had hoped the purported big updates would happen concurrently with my return. Hm.

Like another post: I watched the direct and did not notice the absence of ACNH. I do think Nintendo should have capitalized on the success of this great game and give fans something to look forward to.

That said: I have posted numerous times that ACNH is a great game. It is complete: I am content with crafting, customizing, and terraforming. I still play about 20 to 30 minutes a day. Could there be more content? Sure! But I am content with hundreds of hours and that peaceful feeling when I walk around my island designed by myself.

@Anti-Matter I know you love the game, as do I. in my previous post I do say I am content with the game as is.

that said: I love your creative ideas for more content! Yard sales, rideable vehicles, etc. And I do miss Club K.K. Anyway, I just wanted to say you have some very creative ideas and I hope I see some in future Animal Crossings.

@dugan
And one more thing.

11. Turn the game into Full 3D Free Roaming and Sandbox style like Dragon Quest Builders games, i will instantly love new Animal Crossing games.

I'm still loving it, but there's plenty of room for improvement. I would personally like:

• Bigger rooms/house
• Sleek furniture
• Dinosaur/fossil models
• Observatory with places for the Zodiac items
• More fish and insects
• Option for bigger fish models

Yeah, I'm currently burned out on ACNH — terraforming and moving buildings around is SUCH a slog, I'm not sure if I'll ever return to the game in anywhere near the same level of commitment I was at last year. Stardew Valley is my new personal hotness

@ritouf no worries, still about 32.999.999 people out there might care.

@Yorumi Whoa, thanks for listing it out! Indeed, quite a few things missing eh

@Snatcher noticed your icon, my daughter and I just played through Hat in Time. Excellent game, I hope they make a sequel one day with a bigger budget. One of the better platformers I have played in a while.

I have a future plan for Animal Crossing too.
Bring back Brewster.

@Dingelhopper Ssshhhhh! The ACNH Mafia will tell you how there's 2000 hours of play here in the most wonderful AC ever and you just don't know how to play it.

Exciting to hear. Hopefully, it's substantial updates that really refresh the gameplay. I still play regularly. But there is always room for growth and improvements

If it’s substantial, I’m in baby

For the love of gyroids give me gyroids!

All I want is for them to add more dialogue to the villagers! Compared to prior games, there is so little dialogue and they begin repeating themselves so quickly. Their entertaining and quirky dialogue was one of my favorite things about the series.

@CromAstronomy One of the best.

one big social island where everyone can visit, chat make friends and participate in the following...... fishing tournament (one big lake, no fish shadows, just pure random fishing like in real life), wii like bowling, pool, darts, 5 aside football, mini baseball game, jet ski racing, bar area and club, go carting and anything else the devs could add to list. PS if I have to pay for this DLC, then bring it on as my wallet is ready!!!!!!

Would take a mountain moving update of additions to get me back into this game; charming and fun for a year and 400 hours, but I have moved on.

I have disengaged for a year now. It's got boring, Redd shows up very rarely, and there is no art checklist. No LOZ items like New Leaf had (Mario sucks). No coffee shop. The house expansions are boring. The June event for the wedding was cool the first time, now it's a waste of time. And I absolutely hate how you have to have a completed island before being able to customize it, which costs a bloody bell fortune, and is a pain in the ass to do. It should have been the first option when creating an island, so I don't have to do a thousand revisions. And the lack of store updates is annoying.

@VoidofLight Agreed

@Echostory A cold pop tart with the frosting licked off.

@NEStalgia You mean hacking and an overinflated bells market.

Honestly, as unlikely as it was to happen I had secretly hoped they would announce a New Game+ option for it. After 1000+ hours put in and innumerable items collected in the catalog I don't want to part with my island or the time I've spent collecting/learning things.

I desperately want the option to take all my character has learned to a new island to design anew, and to collect new villagers w/o giving up my, "keepers." I want to be able to go back to my original island and still futz and tweak its themes. Having to wipe your island, or slowly destroy/flatten it (which is painstakingly awful) really sucks if you can't/don't want to buy another Switch.

@Anti-Matter Oh, absolutely! If that camera in the house worked the same outside, wow. Yes, I still think the game is excellent, but months before the release of the game I was thinking about full 3D.

Actually, when I bought the Switch one week after launch, I was already thinking of the next Animal Crossing.

@JediKnight719
"Redd shows up very rarely"

Time Travel, yo !
I have completed the Redd Art galleries by keep doing Time Travel.
Time Travel mechanism in ACNH was really great in my opinion so I can go to any date I want without losing my villagers.

@Yorumi
Here is the trick.
Once you found Redd is on your island, make sure you Time Travel to next day after you have purchased something from Redd. Your purchases will be delivered on the next day. After that, go back to the day before and Redd will show up again with different items to sell. Repeat the process until you get all Redd arts.

@MetalKingShield YES! You are one of the only people I've seen who mentioned the dinosaur/fossil models! I would love to see those come back. I've had a full set of all 73 fossils in my inventory for months with they hope they'd be added back eventually.

I was thinking they could make it so once we'd finished the fossil wing of the museum, we could give sets of fossils to Blathers and he'd send them off to Cyrus or someone to get models made? Or they could add a new character.

I would love an observatory, too!

I really want to see Kapp’n return, they still haven’t used that little pier for anything yet! And if either he or DoDo Airlines could take us to explore a brand new mainland area (with bigger shops, theatre, HHA office, Katrina, etc) I would be so beyond happy. Also, my character needs coffee.

They should of did a Miitopia expansion, rather than make it a separate game.

@VoidofLight,

At the risk of opening up yet another can of worms, or making another mountain out of another molehill, which people are you referring to, when you suggest they should actually release some features that people really want?, people on here or other online forums?.

@Yorumi,

15 years, not that would be getting some real value for money.

@NEStalgia,

As I have said there is content in this game, but it may not appeal to everybody, but it sure looks like it's appealed to an awful lot of people thus far.

I feel if they had just done a simple HD copy and paste of New leaf, people would have still complained.

@johnvboy People all over the internet who are disappointed with the game. If you look at youtube videos for Animal Crossing New Horizons, as well as twitter posts, it's apparent that a lot of people aren't happy with the game.

Man we all know they're just going to repackage the original Animal Crossing, add DX to the title, make it 480p for HD visuals which reviewers will say is "gorgeous" or "breathtaking", charge full price and not provide DLC just like Super Mario Party, right? Duh! Get with the program. Would be cool if they just keep throwing on content and new buildings of course, an extra 8x8 space of island, more beach. Lots of possibilities

@VoidofLight,

So still not lots of people then, my take would be to look at the amount and prices of used copies for sale on various sites, as if a large number of people were selling the game on, because it was no good, or had no content etc, then there would be far more used copies for sale, at very low prices.

The people upset are a very niche set of people at best, not of course suggesting they have no right to be upset or their concerns are not valid on a personal level of course.

@Anti-Matter
I love your list and agree with nearly everything there!

Showing my bias, but I would love to build an arcade (with playable games) on my island and then ride a bike there from my house. Even though I have had hundreds of hours of fun with the game, I really wish the items were interactive as well as decorative. There just needs to be more to DO there.

Well, I will be looking forward to the new gameplay! This one hasn't captured my imagination like New Leaf, but it is still pretty good.

@Dingelhopper,

In your own personal opinion it's worse than an early access game, but that does not explain why I have put more hours into this than any other game in the series, and am still playing this far longer than I did with the suggested better title New Leaf.

i mean it is a year old. maybe people just need to move on

More design opening there isn’t enough more events new fish bugs etc farming would be amazing more room in island more neighbours games like mini games etc

@Grumblevolcano I don't think you can use the Bug Off tournaments to determine when updates will come. The Bug Offs all take place each month in a four-month span, starting in June and ending in September for the Northern Hemisphere or starting in November and ending in February for the Southern Hemisphere.

The last seasonal item we have available now on the Nook Shopping tab is available in July (the Rodeo-Style Springy Ride-on item for the Cowboy Festival, available from July 15th through August 15th), so it would make a lot more sense for the next update to come in late July. I'm guessing they have to add the fireworks shows for August, too.

I understand some people's disappointments with the game, but this is the entry I've put the most time on by far. I've played every day since launch and still manage to find lots to do. It would be wonderful to have even more activities to do, shops, shop upgrades, furniture sets, characters, etc., of course, but some of us do love the game and do manage to find plenty of things to do. I don't consider it uncomplete or an "early-access game." And I find it unfair to compare it to earlier entries, especially when we're sure to get more updates and Nintendo never promised we'd get any of the things people expect.

@Teksetter It would be so awesome to have a working arcade! That was one of my biggest wishes for the game before it came out. I'd love to see them bring back the Panel de Pon/Puzzle League and Desert Escape mini games you could play in New Leaf with the in-game 3DS and Wii U items.

I'd love to be able to play an Animal-Crossing-themed pinball game with the pinball machines or play a game of billiards/pool with my villagers or whatever. Maybe we'll get something like this in the series someday.

@Hyrule_Rainclouds
Oh, thanks for agreeing! I must confess ACNH is my first Animal Crossing game, but I think Nintendo incorporated mini-games into older AC games and I wish they still did.
Like in Shenmue, they had Sega arcade cabinets scattered about that you could pop in and play. Or the Midway arcade games you could play in the middle of LEGO Dimensions (although they were emulated so poorly on my Wii U I could barely play them). I guess I’m a fan of the concept. 😄

I would LOVE an Animal Crossing pinball table!!! Virtual or IRL. I bet some pin-head out there has already custom-built one by now.

So yes, Tortimer’s Arcade, please and thank you!

@Teksetter Hey, no worries! I started with New Leaf, the previous entry in the series, so I'm a relative newcomer, too. I've since gone back and played the Game Cube one and Wild World on DS.

New Leaf got a huge Welcome amiibo update 3 or 4 years after launch that added a lot of new furniture items, tasks to do, etc. They added in-game 3DS and Wii U items, too. The 3DS item let you play a Panel de Pon/Puzzle League mini game and the Wii U item let you play Desert Island Escape from the Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival board game on Wii U. You could even win prizes for playing those games like furniture, clothing items, etc.

The Game Cube game let you collect NES cartridges and play the full NES games in-game. I really wish they'd bring something like that back! Especially if they added prizes you could win like special wallpaper/flooring, furniture, clothing based on the NES game. Maybe they could add back in the NES games for NSO subscribers? A pinball mini game or fighting arcade game would be cool, too!

@Dingelhopper the game looks better days after its release and it's a really good game and your being very biased on it. It earned those sales nu,bets and your saying the sales it made was a bad thing. The game is was made with a lot of love put into it and a lot of fans loved it as well and that is a fact not a opinion

@Hyrule_Rainclouds I put in more hours into new horizon then I did with new leaf and new got boring really fast unlike new horizon

@VoidofLight no not at all most of the people I've seen are still in loved with the game it had a lot of love put into and it earned those sales numbers and the updates improved the games future and it's future is very bright your just blind and in complete denial

@Maplemiles I've seen the opposite. The main people who like the game are being shills for it, telling people they're in the wrong for not liking the game itself, or feeling a tiny shred of disappointment over it. Most of the people who were normal fans of the game stopped playing after about a year.. which is odd seeing how Animal Crossing titles are intended to be spread out for much longer.

@VoidofLight your higher then a kit I'm a fan of the games and I can tell you new horizon is being played by the true fans when you say true fans it's people who only pretends to be a fan of animal crossing when they are really not your the one who is shilling and your still in denial. Your clear wrong animal crossing fans are clearly still playing the game your in the wrong and you know it

@Dpullam new horizon is as good as new leaf. I sold my copy of new leaf because I got bored of it but not with new horizon it's a animal crossing games fans asked for

@Maplemiles For one, I didn't even use the term "True fans", but you are.. which is hypocritical and just makes you seem like a delusional gatekeeper.

Two, what's a true fan in your mind? Someone who loves New Horizons, and doesn't objectively look at it's flaws, but instead denies them?

I've played Animal Crossing since Wild World, and I've loved every entry dearly up until New Horizons. Does that make me less of a "true fan"? You said earlier that you found New Leaf to be boring, so wouldn't that make you less of a "True fan", going off your logic?

@Maplemiles I loved New Leaf, it was my first game in the series. But I actually love New Horizons even more! I have put over 1200 hours into my island and have played every single day since launch, well over a year now, which is the only game I've ever done that with. If I hadn't gotten so busy the last few months, I'd probably have even more hours spent on it. I actually bought a Switch Lite a few weeks ago with a physical copy of New Horizons so I could start a second island!

Even though I still find tons to do, it would be awesome to have even more! And I do miss the mini games from New Leaf, the 3DS/Wii U ones and the Tortimer/Kapp'n Island ones.

Everyone has a right to an opinion. Some people don't like New Horizons as much. That's OK. Even though I absolutely love it, I would welcome the updates and additions people mention here and elsewhere. It would be great to get Brewster, the Roost cafe, and gyroids along with the summer island and mini games, new Nook's Cranny upgrades, new furniture and clothing, etc. Here's hoping we get a bigger update in July. The development team in Japan loves this game, I believe, and want it to be a great experience for everyone who plays it. I'm sure they have more planned.

I'm playing the OG and its still superior to New Horizons. The only thing NH has going for it is visuals But even the OG is good looking. The simple toon graphics are charming with that N64 style since that was its original platform before being ported to GC and released in the West.
I hated NH, they lied and sold a $60 unfinished early access product like you see on Steam these days. Its missing so many features and content still. It makes no sense. Nintendo clearly released it like this to milk their horrible online membership.

@Anti-Matter This is true, but I actually enjoy playing the game the way it was intended because of the level of challenge.

@JediKnight719
I'm the opposite.
I think every peoples have different playing behaviour for same Animal Crossing.
While some peoples play without time travel, i did time travel instead because i want to feel the quick progress as i have ever played Harvest Moon games so i want to bring the Harvest Moon experience into Animal Crossing games as i felt comfort to play with quick pace and take control of the time as i want.
I don't like to be trolled after waiting for several days for Redd and i found nothing genuine from his art shop. Some peoples have different reaction toward that situation.