Finally, the game everyone’s been waiting for with baited breath. Nintendo showed a trailer for the Switch version of Animal Crossing, titled Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The presentation also provided a release date of March 2020. The trailer gives a good impression of what’s in store with New Horizons.
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you set off on a Nook, Inc. voyage via a Nook charter to a deserted island, where you can set up a tent and start establishing your own town in a similar way to previous Animal Crossing games. Expect lots of crafting items, fishing, shaking trees, interior design, and more.
Nintendo had previously stated that Animal Crossing for the Switch would be out in time to close 2019, but the development team asked today’s Direct audience very politely to please be patient, as the team wants a little more time to make the game as perfect as possible.
Fans of this franchise are really itching for the next Animal Crossing fix, but most can agree that waiting for a good game is better than receiving an unfinished, not so good game.
On Nintendo Treehouse Live, Nintendo showed off Animal Crossing: New Horizons’s gameplay a bit more, demonstrating things from “furniture to tools” that can be crafted out of the materials available on the island.
Here is a full video from the Treehouse Live portion of the New Horizons announcement, with developers Aya Kyogoku and Hisashi Nogami talking about island life and multiplayer features.
Nintendo seems to be aiming to create an Animal Crossing game that will be fun, engaging, and satisfying for players for a “long time,” and New Horizons is shaping up to be the title that Animal Crossing fans are expecting it to be.
Fans have been waiting for a new mainline Animal Crossing game since Animal Crossing: New Leaf was released in 2012 in Japan and was everywhere else the following year. New Leaf received a refresher with Amiibo support in 2016.
Pre-orders are now available for Animal Crossing: New Horizons here.