games announced at Nintendo's Switch 2 Direct. The latest installment in the franchise, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, was released five years ago, leaving players hungry for more cozy, creative fun. Needless to say, the lack of news regarding Animal Crossing as Nintendo prepares to launch the Switch 2 Console was upsetting for many fans, who now feel abandoned by the company.
Numerous fans took to Reddit, including Pegtz, to share their frustrations about the lack of new Animal Crossing content. Another Reddit , Disig, commented on a different post, "I won't be buying a Switch 2 unless AC comes out basically." You can see more fan reactions in Pegtz's post below.
Animal Crossing rose to new heights of popularity thanks to New Horizons' release in March 2020, going on to become the Switch's second best-selling game of all time, behind Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Despite the series' incredible rise to prominence, the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct did not feature any form of Animal Crossing announcement.
No Sign Of A New Animal Crossing, Or A Return Of The GameCube Original
Not Even An NSO Inclusion
While Nintendo did feature a brief glimpse of New Horizons gameplay footage during Switch 2 Direct, since the console is backwards compatible, the company made no further comments on the future of Animal Crossing. Some fans, excited about the potential of old releases like the original Animal Crossing and Animal Forest+ returning, were quick to point out that no AC titles made the list of GameCube games seeing a Switch 2 revival. "[I] would've bought the Switch 2 just for that," one fan said of the GameCube exclusion.
The lack of announcements may simply mean something bigger is on the way. Nintendo previously released a special edition of the Switch alongside the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which featured themed Joy-Cons. Fans remain hopeful that Nintendo will do the same for a new Animal Crossing title and are saving both the game and the exclusive console announcement for another Direct after initial excitement for the Switch 2 calms down. Check out Redditor iSowelu's thoughts below:
The consensus about a lack of new Animal Crossing content is clear: fans feel that the game is too popular for Nintendo to leave it sitting, and in a market where companies market directly to consumers, the absence of Tom Nook and co. feels especially egregious to loyal players.
Our Take: Some Animal Crossing Fans Are Expressing Patience, As We Should
News About Nintendo's Latest Plans Is Still Fresh
Despite the speculation, it's important to keep in mind that Nintendo has announced a lot of new content in a short amount of time. In less than a week, gaming fans have gone from knowing next to nothing about the Switch 2 to almost all of Nintendo's plans for the start of the Switch 2 era. As a few more pragmatic fans pointed out, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released three years after the debut of the original Switch, so if Nintendo follows its previous release schedule, a new Animal Crossing could be on the way in 2028. Previous versions of the game could also come to GameCube Classics down the line if the feature performs well, especially if fan demand remains high.
It's not unreasonable to think that Nintendo has another Animal Crossing game in development that it chose not to feature during its recent livestreams for fear of over-saturating its own market. Animal Crossing's popularity won Nintendo lots of attention and brought in no shortage of sales, so despite the disappointing lack of announcements, there's no need for fans to panic. In the meantime, fans have to continue tending to their islands and making good use of the creativity Animal Crossing provides its players.
Sources: Reddit/Pegtz, Reddit/Disig, Reddit, Reddit/iSowelu
Source: Reddit.
