The crazy days of 2020 are starting to feel like a hazy dream, so here’s our take on what will be the next Animal Crossing game. The fortunate timing of Animal Crossing New Horizons was the escape we all needed from the global pandemic, but hopefully we won’t have another one of those next time around.
There are no official announcements from Nintendo as of yet, so the next Animal Crossing game may still be a little way off, but we’re betting there’s a team working on it already. We’ll dig through all of the data and details to give you everything we have on what it might be and when it’s likely to come out with the next Nintendo console being a likely contender.
AdvertisementThe pandemic meant that we had way more time for gaming and we all needed a holiday to escape one of the toughest experiences we’ll hopefully ever live through. This helped to boost the popularity of Animal Crossing New Horizons, which went on to be the biggest selling title in the series
It was a sad time for many and it came along and gave us another world to visit, where the only concerns were finding bugs, catching fish and harvesting fruit. The next game will ride on the back of this a little, so it’ll be interesting to see how well it does in a different situation.
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Option 1: We’ll get an Animal Crossing remake for the next game
AdvertisementThroughout the entire Animal Crossing series there hasn’t been a single remake, but then there have only been five core games. On the one hand you could look at this and say that if it hasn’t been done before it’s probably not very likely, but it could also be the perfect opportunity.
You’ve only got to look at the success of The Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening or Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on the Nintendo Switch to see the potential. We’ve also got the Super Mario RPG remake coming soon, so clearly there’s a precedent in favor of a return to a previous game in the series next.
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The question is what title is the most likely. The very first Animal Crossing game is a logical first step, but it’s probably a bit too similar to New Horizons to be much of a contender for a remake.
It’s a similar story with all of the other games, so this could well be a factor, reducing the likelihood of a remake. Even the Wii’s City Folk, which sounds like it should be different, is pretty close to the formula and setting established in the original game back in 2001 on the Game Cube.
If Nintendo does choose to do a remake for its next Animal Crossing game then it will probably be similar to the Super Mario RPG remake, being a graphically enhanced version of the original. It’ll probably do OK in terms of sales, but it wouldn’t be able to build on the success of New Horizons in any meaningful way with no new mechanics or location.
Option 2: We’ll get a brand new game with a whole new setting next
With no clear route for a remake, we’re hoping that the next Animal Crossing game will be something brand new with a unique setting. We’ve got a few ideas to throw into the mix, which we’ll cover below, but this would give the title a hook to build on the success of New Horizons.
It won’t have the imperfect storm of the pandemic to fuel it’s success, so it will need to land big with fresh content ideas. One of the reasons the last game did so well was that it was set on a tropical island with a story that revolved around it being your holiday home.
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If you take this idea and get creative you’ve got a lot of potential. A jungle setting could be an option, but our best idea is a game where you can change the biomes of areas. This would give you jungles, the arctic tundra, snow-topped mountains, deserts, coral reefs, rolling green hills, savanna, etc.
AdvertisementWe’re huge fans of Animal Crossing New Horizons, but it definitely felt small and a bit too similar as you progress through the game. The landscaping feature was great, but if this could be taken to the next level in a new game it could be incredible.
They could take this further and create Animal Crossing New Worlds where you travel in space and populate a new planet. It could build on the biome feature suggested above and add in moons or local planets to visit similar to the islands you visit in New Horizons.
Either way, adding in a new direction and expanded possibilities would be a great way to build on the huge new success of the series. Going backwards feels like it would be a bit redundant, however, there is a hybrid option that could work.
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Option 3: We’ll get a brand new game inspired by a previous Animal Crossing title next
For our last option for the next Animal Crossing game, we’ve got something specific in mind. City Life was more of a village setting than it sounded, but they could go big on the “city” side of things for a direct sequel, giving us mini skyscrapers and an island setting similar to Manhattan to play with.
AdvertisementOne of the reasons the series is so successful is that it’s big and small at the same time, so the city can’t be too massive, but as mentioned above, New Horizons started to feel small as you get further in the game, so there’s scope for a bigger setting. This needs to be at least a little boundary bound, but it could still be bigger than anything that’s come before it and still feel manageable.
You’ve only got to look at games like Minecraft and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom to see the potential of unlimited possibilities. Having a few more for the next Animal Crossing game would help to take it to the next level and deliver something truly new.
More things we’d like to see in the next game
There isn’t much that we’d change in terms of the Animal Crossing formula, but there are a couple of updates that we’re hoping for. We’ve touched on the first of these with option 2 above and it’s the ability to have more landscaping options.
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In New Horizons, your island size was locked in, but it would be cool to have more freedom to expand or change it with the biome idea above. Being able to build it out or change the style would add a lot of interest to the later gameplay with everything from archipelagoes or mega-islands being an option.
AdvertisementThe other new addition we’d like to see in the next game is an underwater view. Diving for creatures would be way cooler if you could duck beneath the water to see it and possibly the coral reef or sandy sea bed below.
It would be even cooler if you could landscape or build under the sea, with the mechanism being one of the later game unlocks like paths in New Horizons. Another alternative would be a little submarine that you could use to explore the waters around your home setting, which would be very cool.
When will the next Animal Crossing game come out?
There’s usually a gap of around 4 years between Animal Crossing titles, so if you stick to that then we’re due a game from 2024. While this is a possibility, it still feels a little short, so it might make more sense to push this to 2025 instead, so that’s our best estimate at the moment.
You can read more about the next Nintendo console below, but this is bound to have an impact on the release. 2025 would give it enough time to build up sales for the new console, giving it more chance to build on the success of New Horizons, which came out three years after the launch of the Switch.
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What console will the next Animal Crossing game be on?
AdvertisementThe Nintendo Switch might still feel new for a lot of people, but considering the fact that Nintendo usually changes its tech every 6 years or so, we’re starting to look at the prospect of the next console. You can read more with the link below, but the Nintendo Switch came out in 2017, so we’re fast approaching an announcement.
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The Game Cube came out in 2001, the Wii came out in 2006 and the Wii U came out in 2012, so that’s a 5 year, 6 year, 6 year gap for the last three iterations. The 6 year anniversary for the Switch was earlier in 2023, so we’re already over the average.
When you look at it like this, it seems pretty clear that the next Animal Crossing game will come out on a new console. It’s possible that it might be a dual launch with the game coming out on the Nintendo Switch as well as its successor, but either way it looks destined to be future tech.
Don’t forget to check out our computer games section to keep tabs on the game, or visit the Animal Crossing New Horizons website at https://animal-crossing.com/new-horizons/.
