Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Overview

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a 2020 social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth main installment in the Animal Crossing series, following Animal Crossing: New Leaf. In New Horizons, the player controls a character who moves to a deserted island after purchasing a getaway package from Tom Nook, accomplishes assigned tasks, and develops the island as they choose. They can gather and craft items, customize the island, and develop it into a community of anthropomorphic animals.

Development of New Horizons began in 2012, following the release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf. The game director, Aya Kyogoku, retained content from previous games to keep fans happy and also ensured that the game was simple enough to appeal to newcomers. With art and graphics, the developers used the concept of "trigger of play" and the "imagination gap", where the former kept the gameplay simplistic and easy to pick up while the latter kept the art style simple for the player to imagine the rest. The game was announced during a Nintendo Direct in September 2018 and after an extended development period, was released worldwide on March 20, 2020.

New Horizons received acclaim from critics, who praised its gameplay and customization options, although its subsequent updates were given mixed response. The game was nominated for over a dozen awards and was a major commercial success, selling over 50 million copies worldwide and breaking the console game record for most digital units sold in a single month. It has since been considered one of the greatest games of all time, and is the best-selling game in the Animal Crossing series, the second best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch, the best-selling game of all time in Japan, and the 12th best-selling video game in history. Its commercial success has been attributed in part to its release amid global stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The game has been used as a substitute for social interactions such as weddings and graduation ceremonies, as well as political campaigning and virtual protests. The game also inspired fan creations, such as a trading website, a talk show, comics, and merchandise. It has received several major updates adding new content. An enhanced port for the Nintendo Switch 2 was released on January 15, 2026, alongside the 3.0 update.

Official trailer

Gameplay video. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Gameplay Walkthrough Part 1 - First Day on a New Island!, ZackScottGames. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Simulator

Developer

Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 5

Publisher

Nintendo

Series

Animal Crossing

Platforms

Nintendo Switch

Age rating

ESRB E

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

Yes

Online multiplayer

Yes

Co op

Yes

Age ratings

ACB

G

USK

0

CERO

A

ESRB

E

GRAC

ALL

CLASS IND

L

PEGI

3

Release dates

Editions

Check out the store

DLC

Happy Home Paradise, a paid expansion for designing holiday homes on a distant island, came out on 5 November 2021 and is still sold for US$24.99. Seasonal events and the 2.0 and 3.0 updates were free.

Items

Name	Date	Adds	Price	Obtainable today
Happy Home Paradise	2021-11-05	An island resort where you design holiday homes for villagers, with new decorating options for your own island	US$24.99	Yes

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single player, local and online play all still work.

Online

Plays offlineYes

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	Switch	90	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
IGN	9	10
GameSpot	9	10
Game Informer	9	10
Nintendo Life	10	10
Famitsu	38	40
GamesRadar+	4.5	5
VentureBeat	95	100
Pocket Gamer	5	5

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Developer	Nintendo EPD
Publisher	Nintendo
Director	Aya Kyogoku
Producer	Hisashi Nogami
Artist	Koji Takahashi
Programmers	Yoshitaka Takeshita, Hiromichi Miyake
Writer	Makoto Wada
Composers	Kazumi Totaka, Yasuaki Iwata, Yumi Takahashi, Shinobu Nagata, Sayako Doi, Masato Ohashi

Notes for collectors

• One island per console: every profile on the same Switch shares a single island.
• Up to 4 players on one console and up to 8 on one island online.
• It sold 5 million digital copies in March 2020, the most for any console game in a single month at the time.
• The Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch came out on 13 March 2020 at US$299.99; in North America it came without the game.
• Cloud saves were added in July 2020, through a recovery service rather than ordinary save backup.
• A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition came out on 15 January 2026 alongside the free 3.0 update.
• Won Best Family Game at The Game Awards 2020.

Credits

Publisher

Nintendo

Developer

Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 5

Director

Aya Kyogoku

Released

2020-03-20

Age rating

ESRB E

Region

US

Time to beat

about 62 hours