# Villagers will never move out unless you confirm with them first.



## Mello (Mar 27, 2020)

I've been cycling through a bunch of villagers and forwarding months, years (up to 40 years) at a time on some occasions and I've got a couple things to share that may give some people a bit of peace of mind. 

Gone are the days of New Leaf, where you could miss someone's move-out ping and be greeted upon starting your town that a villager has moved away. New Horizons has instead opted for a system where villagers will now have a thought bubble over their head, accompanied by a thinking pose/slowed walking which indicates that they wish to discuss with you their moving plans. This is fantastic, but not only do villagers signify when they wish to move, but they are also *incapable* of moving until they confirm with you first. 

Also, even if you haven't spoken to a villager in a while, they will still let you know that they want to move if it is their time. This means if you're TT'ing to cycle out a villager, you don't have to waste time talking to them first to refresh their dialogue. 







Here, Maelle was also not spoken to in 40 years and she was still happy to let me know she planned to move out:






*Edit:* Some additional information that may help...

1.) Villagers are able to request to move out so long as you have at least 8 villagers.

2.) Villagers no longer have the authority, ability, or simply the *audacity* to play that game with you where they decide not to move out when you tell them to. 

3.) You are not able to change a villagers mind if you tell them to move out. 

4.) The bubble over a villagers head does *not* mean that they are moving out. They can request/or give you something instead. However if a villager *is* ready to move out, they will *always* have a bubble over their head.


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## Feraligator (Mar 27, 2020)

Lol that first screenshot. 

That's amazing to know, definitely something I hated from past games. When I was a kid and my favourite villager moved out I actually cried lol


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## xara (Mar 27, 2020)

that’s great to know - i’m planning to not time travel but it’s nice that villagers won’t leave unless they tell you first


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## SetsuTheYena (Mar 27, 2020)

If this really true, it’s fantastic news!! Much easier to cycle unwanted villagers then, without having to worry you miss dreamies getting the silly idea to move and end up gone.


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## Steampunk Mage (Mar 27, 2020)

That's good to know they won't move without your approval.


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## Hesper (Mar 27, 2020)

Fantastic! I do plan to cycle most of the slots in my village, trying to meet new villagers, but Julian is too great and I've recently come to adore Bones, so it's good to know I won't lose 'em.


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## Chris (Mar 27, 2020)

Glad to hear this! A big part of why I gave-up with _New Leaf _ was because I don't have enough time/the right lifestyle to play video games daily and it was a hassle having to time travel backwards, create a second character, etc each time to check or prevent villagers hadn't moved away. By the time I'd messed around doing that I didn't feel like playing anymore.


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## ForbiddenSecrets (Mar 27, 2020)

It's nice to know that if life gets away from me and I can't check my town for a while I won't get surprise move outs.


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## Paperboy012305 (Mar 27, 2020)

Wait, they can’t move out on their own!? This is a big game changer to those who have dreamies like me.


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## kayleee (Mar 27, 2020)

This is such good news - I don't time travel much but now if I do I don't have to worry about my faves moving away! I always hated in New Leaf how the villagers that seemed like your best friends were always the first to randomly move out lol


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## Spooky. (Mar 27, 2020)

Oh good. I always hated in new leaf how if I wanted a break, I still had to play constantly until someone asked to move and say 'no' just so that I can take a break.


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## Noctis (Mar 27, 2020)

This is good to know. I just had a villager yesterday with a bubble and thought hey this might be it because I want him out. But it was quite different, he didn't give me a move out date as I've been seeing with certain people. so since I wasn't paying much attention after I told him it was cool for him to leave I thought he might've changed his mind. No this wasn't the case but I asked about this yesterday and I confirmed myself if they don't give a date, the next day they're already in boxes and gone the following day. It was killing me I had no choice to TT just to confirm this.


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## Miss Misty (Mar 27, 2020)

That's good news! Like others said, it really helps me feel better if I get busy and can't play every day (not that I expect that any time soon)

I'm nowhere near villagers moving out, though, so can anyone confirm if they can change their minds? I know in past games that if someone wanted to leave and you said yes, there was a chance they'd say 'oh, I thought you'd miss me so jk I'm staying'. Can that still happen in NH?


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## cheezu (Mar 27, 2020)

That's great to know.
I have just made a post inquiring about this a few hours earlier so thank you for answering.

Just some questions though - 

1. Can you still make them change their mind if say, you don't read over the dialogue carefully, and somehow accidentally give them the okay to move (I mean on the same day. I know that you probably can't change their mind when they're in boxes).

2. Can they change their mind about moving even though you tell them to move? (I remember this would happen in NL sometimes and your option then was to quit without saving. However, with this game autosaving I'm assuming that wouldn't be possible.)

3. Is it always a speech bubble over them when they want to move?
Just asking because Hazel had a speech bubble above her head today but when I went to talk to her she gave me an item. Granted that I only have 5 villagers at this point so I was sure that she wasn't going to move.

4. How many villagers do you need on your island for them to start wanting to move? Is it 10 or less.

Thanks a lot for your help!


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## Kurashiki (Mar 27, 2020)

that's amazing! i was always so scared to start playing again after a break out of fear of my villagers leaving


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## Mairen (Mar 27, 2020)

This is really great news! It was always a sense of worry when I was time travelling in new leaf that I would end up losing one of my favorite villagers due to jumping one day too far ahead or something


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## Mello (Mar 27, 2020)

Noctis said:


> I confirmed myself *if they don't give a date*, the next day they're already in boxes and gone the following day. It was killing me I had no choice to TT just to confirm this.


 tbh, i have never seen a single villager give a move out date in this game. but you're 100% right, they definitely go into boxes the following day they ask you if they can move, and the day after that, they're gone. 

also, glad this info helped you guys out. and as a side note, it's taken me 60~ years, but Admiral has finally asked me to move out. gosh, i'm not sure why he was so happy that he'd stick around that long when he was clearly unwanted, but he's finally leaving.. it's a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. see ya Admiral.



cheezu said:


> That's great to know.
> I have just made a post inquiring about this a few hours earlier so thank you for answering.
> 
> Just some questions though -
> ...


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## Corrie (Mar 27, 2020)

Thanks for sharing! I know once I go back to work I won't be playing everyday like I used to so it's nice to know nobody will move out without me knowing anymore.


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## satine (Mar 27, 2020)

That's wonderful! I had no idea if this was something implemented or not but I had a sneaking suspicion that maybe it had been. I'm really relieved to know that. When I go back to regular schedule once this virus blows over I'm going to have to go plenty of days without playing, and I would be heartbroken to see that Bob or someone else I love has left while I was away and unable to justify playtime. I'm sure they did that with people with busy schedules in mind.


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## moonbell (Mar 27, 2020)

This is amazing news! One thing that crosses my mind -

In New Leaf you could tell someone not to move and then if you saved and quit nobody would ever move until the next time you played because the next move out wasn't triggered yet. Is that what's happening here basically?


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## Mello (Mar 27, 2020)

moonbell said:


> This is amazing news! One thing that crosses my mind -
> 
> In New Leaf you could tell someone not to move and then if you saved and quit nobody would ever move until the next time you played because the next move out wasn't triggered yet. Is that what's happening here basically?


 I guess it works out to the same thing in practice, except you don't have to actually do anything to trigger this. It seems to just be a feature of this game, thankfully.


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## deerteeth (Mar 27, 2020)

I love the first screenshot, it looks like Gayle became a successful business woman in the 40 years you were gone and she's pumped to catch up!

That or she's getting ready to scam you into buying from her essential oil pyramid scheme. "Oh wow, it's been ages! You're looking a little tired and aged after all this time... You know what you need? Lavender essential oil. It's only 39.99$ for a 30 ML bottle, and I have it in my purse right here... I'll throw in an extra bottle if you purchase 10. It's a great deal, really!"


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## Ace Marvel (Mar 27, 2020)

Do you know if the cycle of 16 villagers exists, or the can come back earlier?


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## dragonair (Mar 27, 2020)

Ah, I thought it would be a ping like in New Leaf where they run up to you! I ignored Diva when she had a thought bubble bc I just wanted her out but she had it for hours. She doesn't have it anymore though so maybe it was just a regular request?


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## s i r e n t i c (Mar 27, 2020)

Honestly that’s such good news! I don’t think I’ll TT in New Horizons that much, but when I do it’s nice to know I won’t have to worry as much


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## Eirrinn (Mar 27, 2020)

Oh gosh really? This is amazing 
No longer will I have to worry about my dreamies moving out randomly when messing around with TTing
Thank you nintendo T_T


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## Autumn_Leaves (Mar 27, 2020)

This is the best news ever. My favorite villager in NL moved away and honestly I did cry because it felt like a real best friend moving away. I can't play that now because it just doesn't feel the same without him. I just don't think the player should be punished if they don't feel like playing every day or if they're too busy. This is one of the best features in this game. Already liking it so much more compared to NL.


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## Fantasyland (Mar 27, 2020)

I, too, have had a tragic TT accident in ACNL. I may complain a tad that parts of the game are hand-holdey when it comes to island customization, but I totally agree with this choice on the developers' part!!!


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## meo (Mar 27, 2020)

I saw another comment about that but it's nice to see it confirmed again.
I'm glad they changed the move out to be more friendly to users.


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## brockbrock (Mar 27, 2020)

Wow, this is such a great change. One of the absolute worst aspects of NL was the risk of villagers moving out if we let our guards down. I spent such a long time finding all of my dreamies (without TT) and I had FINALLY managed to find Tia, only for her to move out a month later when I couldn't check in on my town for a few days. I was so devastated. ;_; 

Seems that won't be a fear I have to live with anymore, which is awesome!


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## raptor360 (Mar 30, 2020)

This one change makes me forget all the cuts and now I have to say this is my favorite animal crossing game of all time. Im going to play this game hardocre for atleast 5 years.


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## R. Planet (Mar 30, 2020)

This is good news as the ability to control moving seems like it should be a constant in these games.

I'll cycle through villagers, especially at first before I get attached, only keeping my day ones permenantly. 

You hear that Bill and Hazel? You're going NOWHERE.


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## Romaki (Mar 30, 2020)

Thanks for checking! That's a relief for whenever you'll return in the future.


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## Blood Eclipse (Mar 30, 2020)

Well, that's a huge relief and step up from the previous Animal Crossing games! I did not enjoy having to worry if a favorite villager that took forever to get moved out because I wanted to give the game a long break or wanted to time travel. I'm glad Nintendo decided to remove that feature. At the same time, imagine if the same applied to real life and none of your neighbors could move out until you gave them your permission.


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## Mayor Monday (Mar 30, 2020)

Excellent! This is totally awesome. It's going to be a lot easy to keep things under control.

The island they truly can't leave unless you confirm with the IR. That's the best.


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## Rosalie1991 (Mar 30, 2020)

Great news. I hated that because of the old system the time till someone moved out was set to 10 with the amiibo update. For non time travelers that was awful long


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## Lilatrix (Mar 30, 2020)

Seriously what a relief!


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## Seastar (Mar 30, 2020)

This is wonderful news! I'm so tired of having to check on my villagers every single time I play New Leaf.


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## skogkyst (Mar 30, 2020)

This is wonderful news! But it puts a lot less pressure on playing every day.


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## trashpedia (Mar 30, 2020)

This changes everything because one thing that bothered me about New Leaf was when villagers would randomly move away if you didn’t play for like 3 days and a new villager would randomly plop their house anywhere. I vividly remember being really pissed when Benjamin built his house on rare and only blue rose *~*


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## galactickat4240 (Mar 30, 2020)

This is really good news!! Once in New Leaf my favorite villager Velma moved out without saying anything or warning me, and I cried all night because I couldn't stop her from leaving. :'( I'm so happy that experience won't happen again


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## Ras (Mar 30, 2020)

One question: is it still like NL where you have to move out a certain number of villagers before you can get the same one a second time, or is that gone, too?


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## oiwa (Mar 30, 2020)

I feel like I'm the only one who isn't happy with this change. Of course I'm as sad as the next person when a villager moves out without letting me know, but I'm a huge fan of the randomness and spontaneity that happened more often in older games. I don't like getting to pick and choose what happens to my island/village, I like having fate decide who will come and who will leave. I was able to look past being able to choose where the villagers live (I wasn't too fond of that, again, I like the randomness, even if it comes with some downsides.) Plus it's sad when a villager leaves but it's really exciting when another moves in. Not only that, but I'd really hate to just tell a villager to move out, just saying "bye!" it feels kinda rude. Maybe it's because I'm fickle or because I'm a veteran player so I prefer the way the older games handled things, but, I don't know. Just a little rant from me.


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