Animal Crossing: New Horizons released in the midst of a global pandemic, which saw a record-breaking 11 million people playing in the first two months. While the game is still popular among fans, some Animal Crossing players have managed to hit the maximum cap for goals like Nook Miles, finished or restarted their islands several times, and fully completed their Critterpedias.
It is apparent that not as many players are flocking to Animal Crossing: New Horizons as they once did, likely due to the last free update, Version 2.0, coming out in November 2021. The $25 Happy Home Paradise DLC released at the same time, giving players who enjoyed creative aspects of the game more to design. However, as both Happy Home Paradise and Version 2.0 are coming up on their one-year anniversary, many are already wondering when the next installment to the franchise will be released.
The Next Animal Crossing Has a High Bar to Clear
It's likely that the next Animal Crossing wouldn't release until 2024 at the earliest, as in the past launches for each new entry were spaced out about every four years or so. However, a new Animal Crossing game could also be planned to release later on when the next Nintendo console, a follow-up to the Switch, hits the market.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons marked the beginning of the fourth generation of Animal Crossing games, with full exterior decoration. The next Animal Crossing game could see an entirely new environment for the beloved villagers to reside in, or it could be a direct sequel to Animal Crossing's abandoned island getaway concept. Either way, following up the incredible success that Animal Crossing: New Horizons saw may not be an easy task.
The 2020 game did extremely well due to a variety of factors, many of which won't be available for Nintendo's next simulation game. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the first to exclusively release on Switch, which allowed players to utilize on-the-go gameplay or their living room ecosystem. Fans were able to continue completing daily tasks when traveling, and bring their island paradise to life on the big screen. The game also introduced terraforming, which meant Animal Crossing users could manipulate the landscape however they pleased. Deeper interactivity was also available, such as through the NookPhone which contains many helpful apps.
However, the most important detail about Animal Crossing: New Horizons' success has to be the perfect timing at which it launched. As the world went into lockdown, there wasn't much for many people to do except pick up video games to pass time in quarantine, which drove Animal Crossing: New Horizons to second place in Nintendo's best-selling games list as of this writing. The cute and colorful animal village game was a perfect fit for those looking to destress, people looking for a new game to learn, and nostalgic fans alike.
The next title to join the Animal Crossing series won't have the luxury of being the first to come out on Switch console, nor will it release during at the start of a pandemic (hopefully). Nintendo could potentially bring new elements to the game, though it has been argued by fans that too many drastic changes might make the game not feel as laid-back and casual as the others. Perhaps in the way that Paper Mario is still a Mario title, this next game could have roots in Animal Crossing but also have an entirely different genre style. Only time will tell, and Nintendo is working on several promising releases in the meantime.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now on Nintendo Switch.