Nintendo confirms to IGN that there will be no further paid DLC

[Etown20]

I’m thrilled with today’s direct, but it does feel kind of weird to wait almost two years for a meaningful update, get everything dumped in at once, and then be told “okay the game is now dead to us forever.” Kinda wanted to believe other future updates might have some substance to them? Why make this an update-reliant game if they were going to save up all the new features for two years and then immediately stop updating? It’s hard to ride the high of this huge update knowing this is now going to be the game’s final form and there’s no chance for anything else. Not really what I pictured when they promised “a few years of update support,” but hey, at least I’m happy about most of what was added!

This is how I feel too. I'd guess today's huge showcase was not the original plan when they were drawing up the DLC schedule, but I think the delays (for the pandemic or otherwise) combined with the community's appetite for more content made it easier for them to just deliver it all at once rather than to keep trying to portion it out and extend it for another year.

I don't think they anticipated all the datamining and speculation nor the backlash the game has gotten over the past year. Today's announcement kind of ends all of that in one fell swoop while also reintroducing the game in time for holiday shopping for all the potential new customers that don't yet own the game or a Switch.

 

[Snek]

I'm honestly shocked. I thought for sure they would've gone the paid DLC route. Maybe this is the last giant update we'll ever get? If so that would be a total letdown.

 

[Meadows]

I thlught it was just the final major FREE DLC.

 

[DJStarstryker]

Now that I think about it, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. I looked through some lists of things that people thought were missing from NH (before this Direct aired, obviously) and MANY of the things people wanted seem to be included. We're even getting things we didn't ask for but are welcome, like HHD put into the game, partition walls, columns, etc.

At this point the major things I see missing are the mini-games and certain NPCs. I have a strong suspicion that all of the NPCs that have an amiibo card will at least be put in the game via the Happy Home Paradise DLC, where you can scan their amiibo and make a house for them. It's not ideal that the only way we get to interact with them is through that DLC because I'd like them to be in the main game too, but at least it's something. We also would get more dialog with all NPCs than they already have. The NPCs have some interesting dialog in HHD after you make a house for them. I also honestly would not be surprised if they end up sneaking other NPCs as a surprise. Gracie would fit in well on Harv's island, for example. (Obviously the Gracie thing is speculation, don't take what I say as fact.)

As for mini-games... well, that's a bit annoying for the people who wanted that. At this point, I don't think there is going to be a resolution to this. I HAVE seen some people be creative and make up their own mini-games for people to play on their islands. It just takes creativity of the island host and the willingness to have part of their island potentially used for setup for this.

 

[Mutti]

even though i was over the moon that they decided to add so much in with this new update, its kinda bitter sweet that they wont release even paid major updates in the future it feels like this is a big missed opportunity for them to cash in as they have done sp in the past off the slightest things added to games.

 

[Etown20]

Between the trailer calling it the "last major free update" and the IGN article, it does make it sound like Nintendo intentionally wanted to make it part of their messaging that they are mostly done working on it.

 

[oak]

I'm just glad they told us up front or else the speculation would be endless.

 

[Fey]

Everything was looking great and my interest (and respect) for the game was slowly trickling back in when they made that announcement.
It seemed jarring—kinda like a "here, you got what you've been pestering us for, now leave us alone!"

I don't want to be too negative, because many of the things were great and honestly surprising additions. That said, it does feel a bit off that they made a big deal about how this game was going to get several (significant) updates over time, only for them to dump all this content into one big last hurrah. Especially because the vast majority of that content is just stuff that could have (should have?) been included from the start (like Art, Diving, Brewsters, Katrina, Gyroids etc.). I dunno. Just rubs me the wrong way.

No multiplayer games/activities is the biggest headscratcher for me, considering that they focused so much on the multiplayer aspect in the initial promotion of the game (Look, you can run around with your friends, you can stand on the beach with your friends, you can take pictures of yourself being with your friends, running and standing around!! Yay.)

 

[Imaginetheday]

They did say "major" update, so it depends on what they consider major. I'm very happy with how it is now, however. It will take me a long time to play through all of this.

 

[joeycon]

it's a bit weird? i'd expect this to be the last major free update but the last and only real paid dlc? i kinda expected New Horizons to get milked for all it's worth for the next year or two, considering how initial reception last year was so overwhelmingly positive and well received. i always expected 2.0 would come along with a big dlc pack and that from there we'd get dlc packs every year.

it's hard to say but for now i'm sorta assuming IGN misread/misinterpreted what Nintendo told them. i am genuinely surprised at the idea of no more paid dlc packs.

*add: also, that's not to say i'm not happy with what we got. what we're getting is good enough to keep me going for a least a year. i'm just saying it's odd looking at it like both a creative and business decision. most games similar to ACNH would drag the game's lifespan out by providing more dlc content at least every year or so, and this game has great potential to last until Nintendo moves on from the Switch. it's just a weird decision is all.

 

[VanitasFan26]

Hmm I don't know how I feel about this. On one hand I kinda understand it because given how long it took them to make this huge update due to the fact the pandemic was hard on them and they had to take their time with it, it probably made them feel the need to just pack everything into this huge update and be done with the game. But on the other hand its pretty weird to discontinue updates considering that the game has been out for over a year and I never thought they would quit on a game like this.

If you look back at Animal Crossing New Leaf it was released in 2012 it still had a lot of things to do in that game up until 2016 when they released the Welcome Amiibo update which at the time was free and they were done with the game which was understandable seeing as how long the game kept many people invested. However, with New Horizons it took a really long while to get to where the game was supposed to be like when it was released it didn't had much to do and it was only until a year later that they added this huge update.

Overall I find it really odd how Nintendo somehow quitted with the updates for New Horizons. I am not sure how long this new update will keep people invested but it will be a really long while until a brand new mainline Animal Crossing game will be announced for the next Nintendo system whenever that is.

 

[FlimsyAxe]

for them to just deliver it all at once rather than to keep trying to portion it out and extend it for another year.

Agree with this line. As someone who had been playing since launch, one or two new QoL features every month won't keep me out of retirement. At best, I'll get back to playing the game for a couple of hours and then I'm done. I even skipped out on the random updates from the past year just cause it felt kind of meh. It would take a pretty huge update (like yesterday's direct) to really get me back into the game.

Also yeah, the longer the direct went, my mood slowly turned into "Why does this feel like they're saying goodbye" lmao

 

[KazooSquirrel]

That's a bummer....I was really hoping minigames would come later.

 

[Variety.Gamer 4438]

https://www.ign.com/articles/animal...big-november-dlc-releases?utm_source=facebook

Kinda unfortunate.

With the high price tag of this DLC, I'm honestly pretty glad there's nothing else I have to pay for down the road for New Horizons. It is honestly a slight relief Nintendo decided to add it to the family upgraded plan since both me and my sister decided we both wanted it anyway.

I'm also really glad that Happy Home Designer for Switch is coming out as paid DLC for the system instead of being a seperate game like it was in the 3DS era.

 

[Brookie]

it's a bit weird? i'd expect this to be the last major free update but the last and only real paid dlc? i kinda expected New Horizons to get milked for all it's worth for the next year or two, considering how initial reception last year was so overwhelmingly positive and well received. i always expected 2.0 would come along with a big dlc pack and that from there we'd get dlc packs every year.

it's hard to say but for now i'm sorta assuming IGN misread/misinterpreted what Nintendo told them. i am genuinely surprised at the idea of no more paid dlc packs.

*add: also, that's not to say i'm not happy with what we got. what we're getting is good enough to keep me going for a least a year. i'm just saying it's odd looking at it like both a creative and business decision. most games similar to ACNH would drag the game's lifespan out by providing more dlc content at least every year or so, and this game has great potential to last until Nintendo moves on from the Switch. it's just a weird decision is all.

Correct me if I'm wrong but they said the last *free* *major* update. This leads me to believe there will be *free minor* updates and juicy *major paid DLC* updates along the way. I'm expecting New Horizons to get milked as much as it can

 

[.: Meri :.]

This is a little bit of a disappoint to hear, but overall I'm really happy with everything we're getting. I was hoping that the few things that didn't make the update (returning plants/fruit, new hair/eye colors, Gracie, etc.) might come along later in smaller paid DLCs, but oh well. I'll keep my fingers crossed that those are Leif/Harriet features that didn't make the announcement, or something along those lines, but as much as I'd love to have that stuff too, ultimately I could live without them. Or maybe those are considered small enough to not count for a "major" update...? I'll just have to wait and see I suppose.
In any case, I think the game is going to feel so much fuller and lively after November 5th, and I'm really looking forward to it! ^^ In a way, I guess it is kind of a relief to hear that there's no more major content coming—I won't have to worry about reserving/redoing parts of my island to incorporate new features past this next update.

 

[Red Cat]

They're too busy working on Animal Crossing New Galaxy for the Nintendo Frisbii.

 

[Brookie]

This is a little bit of a disappoint to hear, but overall I'm really happy with everything we're getting. I was hoping that the few things that didn't make the update (returning plants/fruit, new hair/eye colors, Gracie, etc.)

Gracie might be included in Harv's plaza! Same thing with hair colors and eye colors via Harriet (who was confirmed). Also, what if Kappn's islands include more unique fruits, or the farming itself? I hope there's some hidden content!

Oh, just read the rest of your response! Yes, I hope these are hidden for sure

 

[DJStarstryker]

With the high price tag of this DLC, I'm honestly pretty glad there's nothing else I have to pay for down the road for New Horizons. It is honestly a slight relief Nintendo decided to add it to the family upgraded plan since both me and my sister decided we both wanted it anyway.

I'm also really glad that Happy Home Designer for Switch is coming out as paid DLC for the system instead of being a seperate game like it was in the 3DS era.

IIRC Happy Home Designer was $40 when it first came out on the 3DS. I personally thought I got my money's worth out of it when it came out. Granted, it wasn't as big of a value as NL, which I put many more hours into. But it was still fun.

Compared to that, I feel like this DLC is reasonably priced. It seems like it has all of the features of HHD except integrates them into a mainline AC game. Not only that, but they added new features (like the partition walls and columns) that didn't exist in HHD.

I'm sure people expected/hoped for a $5-10 DLC, but this does have more content than a $5-10 DLC would probably have in it.

 

[.: Meri :.]

Gracie might be included in Harv's plaza! Same thing with hair colors and eye colors via Harriet (who was confirmed). Also, what if Kappn's islands include more unique fruits, or the farming itself? I hope there's some hidden content!

Yeah, I've got my fingers crossed for some hidden features as well! c: The Direct was very fast-paced, it felt like, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were some more things like that that just didn't get mentioned/shown within the timeframe they had.