With the rumors of Switch 2… Do you think a new AC could be in development?

[PacV]

Or maybe we'll get a Wii U case where we just get Amiibo Festival and have to wait way longer to see a new entry?

 

[Corrie]

I'm fully expecting a new Mario, Zelda, or Animal Crossing game to come out first on the new Nintendo console/handheld. Hopefully it's a main series title and hopefully it's not half baked.

 

[Boccages]

Actually I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo was to tease the next Animal Crossing game when they unveil their next console this spring. It might not be in-game footage, but only an AC logo. I think it's fair to assume that the main Splatoon 3 team has been reallocated to work on the next AC main game for Switch 2 in the second half of 2022 and the game has been in full production for a while now.

 

[Firesquids]

With how well New Horizons sold there's no way a new game isn't in development. Will we see anything about it this year? I think there's a strong possibility. I've been seeing Animal Crossing NH commercials at the movies recently and with that crossover event at the Seattle Aquarium, they're definitely marketing Animal Crossing more now. It makes me wonder how far in development the next game could be, I really hope they don't rush it out for the console release.

 

[Boccages]

With how well New Horizons sold there's no way a new game isn't in development. Will we see anything about it this year? I think there's a strong possibility. I've been seeing Animal Crossing NH commercials at the movies recently and with that crossover event at the Seattle Aquarium, they're definitely marketing Animal Crossing more now. It makes me wonder how far in development the next game could be, I really hope they don't rush it out for the console release.

Actually, I'm thinking the next AC game is 2025 bound. Maybe for Christmas 2025.

 

[ShinyDungeoneer]

I think they'll probably do a hybrid of NL's reveal and NH's trailers and marketing. Get revealed with new console, and get shown off more in Directs.

 

[eeveelovee]

I don't think we'll see a new Animal Crossing until AFTER the Switch 2 has been out for a while... maybe a year or 2... They squeezed New Leaf for YEARS before we saw a glimpse of New Horizons. Hopefully we won't have to wait 7 years like we did before lol. I guess I suppose with my prediction it would be about 5-6 years since NH release so.. I'm not holding my breath lol

 

[g u a v a]

It'll probably lag a bit once/if the new console launches. I really hope they take into consideration the response from fans and bring back content from previous games while still incorporating the new features of new horizons...but this is nintendo so they're gonna do whatever they wanna do sadly

 

[Croconaw]

I think the new game won’t be released until 2025, or even as late as 2026. We could possibly hear about it soon, but I don’t think it’ll be anything beyond a mention at this point. I can’t see any footage being released until the end of this year, and that’s at the earliest.

 

[-Blue-]

I'm sure the next AC is already in development if not on paper only. Especially with the sales NH brought it. It's insane they didn't capitalize on it during NH's life when it was booming and kind of stupid. But Nintendo doesn't make good decisions a lot of the times. It will be a while before we see anything, but I hope when it happens we will see a definitive version of AC because NH was great, but it was lacking when you took away designing.

I'm out of the loop though. Haven't there been rumors of the next Switch/console for years? Is this more concrete or more speculation by people overthinking again?

 

[TN4U]

In my eyes, I've been looking at some of the previous mainline games and when their respective consoles came out.

• The first game, as some of you already know, was originally released in April 2001 on the Nintendo 64 in Japan only. It was also the final Nintendo-developed game to be released on the N64, as the GameCube had become a thing and the far-better port was already being developed. Said port was one of the first Nintendo titles to be released on the GameCube in December 2001 and was subsequently localized by the North American team in September of the following year.
• Wild World was released in 2005, a year after the Nintendo DS's release.
• City Folk/Let's Go to the City came out in 2008, roughly two years after the Wii was born.
• New Leaf is a 2013 (November 2012 in Japan) game, coming out about a year or two after the 3DS's release. The amiibo update came in 2016 soon after HHD's release.
• New Horizons obviously in 2020, first announced in 2018 with an originally-slated 2019 release. The Switch came out in 2017.

Lots of dates to remember. If Nintendo sticks with this trend, we may get a vague announcement - at the minimum - of the next mainline game sometime late this year or the next as Splatoon 3 content starts slowing down. Whether that will be on the current Switch or the alleged "Switch II", I'm up for it coming out on either console.

In my opinion, Animal Crossing would make a fantastic VR experience as an optional feature. Being able to talk to villagers in first person, as well as fishing and catching bugs sounds like a lot of fun. We already have something like this with the first-person pro camera feature, so it's entirely possible to implement in the next game. Unfortunately, the Switch doesn't have any VR capability, so it would most likely be saved for the next console if Nintendo ever wanted to forget about their Virtual Boy failure and try their hand at it again with updated technology.

 

[Shawna]

So, the first Switch release in 2017, then we got the AC:NH announcement the next year in 2018.

I know it seems like a lot of time to wait but if the switch to does release later this year, but I would honestly be very grateful if we got an announcement for the next Animal Crossing game the next year in 2025. Even if it is very vague. As long as it is confirmed/guaranteed to be the next mainline game, I would be grateful.

And yes, it’s gonna take some time to actually develop fully especially if they want it to be in-depth and feel not unfinished like new horizons, so maybe in two or three years after the announcement, it’ll finally release in 2027 or 2028

Again, I know that seems like a very long time but we do need to keep in mind that they’re probably gonna wait until the following year. plus, the 2 to 3 years of development.

I would love for the best features of all games to be combined including some new features that we’ve been wanting, especially deeper friendships with the villagers, and more interactions (e.g. hugging your villagers), that would make for masterpiece.

Of course, for certain features to be improved, like terraforming. I do think it should come back, but they should make it less tedious.

I don’t mind crafting coming back as long as they add the bulk-crafting this time and not make us rely so much on it.

Durability, I think it needs to go, at least for golden tools.

I also want a lot of the furniture sets from new leaf and its predecessors to come back, while still keeping the ones from new horizon, and adding new ones in.

 

[daringred_]

i honestly think it could go either way. i would probably think yes if not for that hefty seven year gap between NL and NH. (i guess it's more like five if you count when we first heard about NH.) of course, NL had its longevity extended with the welcome amiibo update. that said, the time between WA and NH's first announcement was two-ish years, and it's been two-ish years since NH's last major update, so i could see a potential tease for the next animal crossing. personally, i would kind of hope they take their time to develop it and don't rush. (not that waiting seven years did much good for base game NH...) i would hate to relive the experience of an iffy game at launch where most of the content is gradually added over a year. that's not fun to me. i'd prefer to wait a couple more years and get a very fleshed out game at launch, a la NL.

depending on how much difference there is between the current switch and the switch 2.0, i think they would have to add an interesting gimmick/twist on the next game to better differentiate it from NH for me (even if that's just a departure from the island setting and going back to a town or even city) but i almost dread that they'd go too far into the direction of giving you total control/customization... then it wouldn't feel quite like animal crossing to me. i'd love to see slightly more of a return to NL and being a life-sim rather than a decorating one.

 

[nightglow]

I could see a new ac game launching in the second year of the new switch being out. Unless we have another pandemic like thing... then I could see them launching early with lots of patches..
ACNH did sell well, but I don't know if they would actually use that as a launch for the console. But I would expect the next game to be basically be expanded version of the dlc of acnh.

 

[McRibbie]

• the Switch's upcoming release schedule in terms of titles coming from Nintendo is almost entirely remakes/ports of older Nintendo games: the two Another Code games, the original Mario Vs Donkey Kong, an HD port of Luigi's Mansion 2 and a remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Even by the Switch's already port/remake heavy library, that's a lot, and it generally reminds me of the last couple of years of the 3DS's life. Add that to the fact that there's a lot of whisperings about the Switch's successor, in general it looks like we're going to get some form of news fairly early on this year. Probably not in January or February unless it's alluded to when the 9 Months Earnings Release happens, but from March (the last month of the financial year) onwards, it's going to happen imo
• generally think they started at least preliminary planning on The Next AC Game around the time NH 2.0 came out, if not in late 2021 in early 2022 after they’d taken a holiday and refreshed. It's been 2 years since then! Unless something has gone terribly, terribly wrong (see also: Nintendo Switch Sports, which somehow took 5 years to come up with)
• as I've said before, generally think the AC/Splatoon overlap is overstated by people who read the headline to an article once and took it as gospel (and it's generally in ignorance of the fact that AC has overlap with practically everything Nintendo EPD in Kyoto makes, not to mention basically being localised by the exact same people who localise everything else), however Splatoon 3 is scheduled to wrap up sometime late this year, and its DLC is coming out... probably in late February or late May, to coincide with one of the next couple of updates? The two series generally alternate in release (with the exception of HHD and amiibo Festival, which both released during the original Splatoon’s update cycle, and yes, Welcome amiibo is included there), so the next Animal Crossing is going to come out sometime after it’s over (it’s usually about 6-10 months afterwards?)
• On New Year's Day, the official Animal Crossing accounts tweeted a picture of all three Able Sisters having a New Year's celebration with the DAL plane flying off in the background. Given the Switch is very clearly at the end of its lifespan, it's very hard not to see it as a tease of Animal Crossing leaving the island and going onto new pastures (similar to the New Year 2020 Splatoon artwork that ended up hinting at Splatoon 3’s story)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GCqLclRXsAAAL1O?format=jpg&name=large

• in general this makes me feel like once we get an announcement for the Switch’s successor we’re also getting an announcement with a teaser trailer this year, with a release date sometime next year. Think it’s most likely that, if it’s not announced with the successor like Splatoon 2 was, it’ll be announced in June (February’s probably not going to have any Switch successor games, if it’s coming out next March September feels way too late for a first announcement. If it’s coming out next autumn, then maybe then? But in general I think they’re going for March again)
• At the very latest I think it’s coming out in 2027, and that’s probably early 2027. Animal Crossing needs to be out fairly early. Not at launch, that’s probably either 3D Mario or Mario Kart. It’s generally released within 2-3 years of a console, as it’s generally proven to sell well over a long period of time (as it’s a game designed to be played for a bit every day).
• But in general I think it’s coming out in 2025, the earliest it’s been released in a console’s lifespan since DnM+ in December 2001. The stars generally seem to be aligning that way. If the Switch 2 is just the Switch, but Slightly More Powerful, then NH is already a good base to build off of. There’s plenty of stuff there already, they just need to build upon it.
• probably not going to just be NH2: NH Harder With More Life Sim Kneecapping QOL Changes People Want, Even If They’re Going “AC isn’t life sim enough anymore!”, really don’t want it to be NL2: Fine, Happy Now? either, kinda feel like going back and doing another pre-NL style AC might be a good idea but idk what they’d do after.
• It’s probably still going to have updates, though. Resigned to that at this point, especially if the Switch successor is more powerful than the Switch. If Splatoon does, if every sports game Nintendo makes does, if a large portion of games made by other companies in a similar vein also do… yup, still updates to Generate And Sustain Hype, Not Overwork Devs, And Not Have Massive Gaps In The Release Schedule Like The Wii U Did

 

[erinz]

i'd like to think there'd be a new one in the works, to go along with the new switch maybe? with the new switch lites and the lego i think its likely they're preparing for a new one!!

 

[Fruitcup]

I like to believe that with the next console we will get another animal crossing main line game. It's become to popular not to. Honestly I can't wait!

 

[KittenNoir]

We probably will get a new animal crossing game with the new Nintendo switch. I just have two theories on when we would get the new game.

1. We won’t get it till like 2030 and I say 2030 cause it took forever for New Horizons to come out since the last game New Leaf. I reckon they wouldn’t bring it out so close since NH came out in 2020.

Or

2. They bring it out a lot earlier as they are no longer doing any updates for New Horizon and they just want to keep pushing out more Animal Crossing games.

 

[rocketspruggs]

To be frank, I can't really see another Animal Crossing game on a new console anytime soon.

Due to the success of New Horizons, Nintendo believes that they have finally made the perfect Animal Crossing game.

But, if they DO make a new game for the series, it's probably going to be a spinoff that's basically a better, upgraded version of Amiibo Festival, and bring it to the new Switch, in order to to make up for the fans who hated the game, and apologize, especially since the Wii U was not a hit with Nintendo fans.

In the new and improved spinoff, you would have the option to continue playing for free without the use of amiibos, since we were forced with amiibos in Amiibo Festival.

 

[McRibbie]

To be frank, I can't really see another Animal Crossing game on a new console anytime soon.

Due to the success of New Horizons, Nintendo believes that they have finally made the perfect Animal Crossing game.

But, if they DO make a new game for the series, it's probably going to be a spinoff that's basically a better, upgraded version of Amiibo Festival, and bring it to the new Switch, in order to to make up for the fans who hated the game, and apologize, especially since the Wii U was not a hit with Nintendo fans.

In the new and improved spinoff, you would have the option to continue playing for free without the use of amiibos, since we were forced with amiibos in Amiibo Festival.

Why wouldn't they make another Animal Crossing game after NH's commercial success?
Why would they essentially do an enhanced port of Animal Crossing's biggest commercial flop? Especially when the developers of it are permanently welded to the development of Pocket Camp?