‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ gets first update in years. Here’s everything new.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons compelled a lot of people to buy Nintendo Switch consoles in 2020, and it’s finally making its way to Switch 2 soon.

Nintendo surprisingly announced a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of New Horizons on Thursday, to go along with a massive free content drop for both versions of the game. This is the first time Nintendo has added anything new to the game in literally four years. Both the Switch 2 Edition of New Horizons and the new content launch on Jan. 15. Those who already own New Horizons can upgrade to the Switch 2 version for $4.99, or that version can be purchased separately for $64.99 if you don’t own the game at all.

But what’s actually new here? Let’s dissect it.

Animal Crossing for Switch 2: Everything new

The paid Switch 2 update to New Horizons is the smaller prong of this two-pronged update coming in January. As with every paid Switch 2 update, it provides upgraded visuals in the form of 4K resolution when playing in docked mode. Strangely, this game did not get the customary bump up to 60 frames per second that most Switch 2 upgrades have gotten; it’s still locked at 30FPS, which is honestly fine for a game like this, but still a little puzzling.

Aside from that, you can now use the Joy-Con mouse controls to decorate houses. This could be a huge added convenience in terms of precision, if you really care about interior decoration. There’s also a new megaphone item that incorporates the Switch 2’s built-in microphone, which lets you interact with villagers by shouting their names.

There are also a couple of upgrades to online play. One is that 12 players can now simultaneously visit an island, up from eight in the original game. Webcam support has also been added, so anyone with a camera plugged into their Switch 2 will have their face hovering over their in-game character, perfect for reaction shots.

Everything coming in the free update for Switch 1 and 2

How do I make my real apartment look like this?
Credit: Nintendo

The real meat of this announcement is in the content update that will be available to players on both Switch and Switch 2, launching the same day in January.

For starters, there’s a new resort hotel on the island run by Kapp’n’s family. You can decorate rooms based on themes (complete with provided furniture) to please hotel guests. Doing so will reward you with tickets that you can use to buy exclusive clothing and furniture at the hotel.

Separate from that, home storage can now be expanded so you can store as many as 9,000 items, if needed. The limit was 5,000 before this update. Flora such as trees, shrubs, and flowers can also be stored this way now. There’s also a new service from Resetti, who will instantly clear out an area of the island on your orders. This will be nice for anyone who wants to totally reset their front yard or something.

There are also some new items you can get, of course. The most exciting to me are a selection of classic Nintendo consoles which, like in previous Animal Crossing games, can actually enable you to play a handful of old Nintendo games. You do need a Nintendo Switch Online membership to access these games, though. On top of those, there are now LEGO-themed items you can buy, and some The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon-themed items you can get by using compatible Amiibo figures.

Easily the biggest new addition here, though, is Slumber Island. You access it by going to sleep, of course. Slumber Island is basically a completely blank new island that you can customize entirely to your liking. You can choose the time of day and weather, landscape it to your heart’s content, and invite any villagers you want to come hang. Perhaps most excitingly, you can invite your friends to Slumber Island via online play, and they can actually help you out with any construction or landscaping projects. If you’ve ever wanted a more collaborative online Animal Crossing experience, here you go. Players can store up to three separate Slumber Islands per save, too, so you can have one for yourself and one for your friends, if you’d like.

This is a massive update for New Horizons, especially considering Nintendo said it was done updating the game in November of 2021. Sometimes good things do happen to those who wait.