Despite the fact that Animal Crossing: New Horizons was not present at this year’s E3, Nintendo of America CEO Doug Bowser indicated that the game would receive further features. After falling from its high debut, many fans believe the game is in dire need of a significant content upgrade.
For a few months after Animal Crossing: New Horizons was launched in March 2020, it was all social media could speak about. It remains one of the best-selling Switch games of all time, thanks to its enormous sales statistics.
Fans, however, are disappointed with the absence of substantial new updates in the game more than a year after its release. For example, the April 2021 update didn’t offer any new events or major features to the game, but it did bring back events like the wedding season and added new goods to the seasonal Nook Shopping. In addition, many gamers were frustrated during Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ second year due to the lack of material compared to the prior game, Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
President Doug Bowser discussed how more gamers spend time with the console’s online features in titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Monster Hunter: Rise in an interview with The Verge. In the conversation, he goes on to discuss upcoming content upgrades for Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
“While we didn’t talk about it [during the E3 Nintendo Direct], we absolutely have plans going forward to ensure the 33 million people who have islands out there have new and fun activities to engage with. Look for more to come.”
The next question is what kind of additional material fans may expect in future game releases. Due to a data mine in the island’s specifications, it was hypothesized earlier this year that the Animal Crossing islands might undergo some enlargement.
This, however, has not yet been incorporated into the game. Brewster and other beloved stores and NPCs were previously featured in previous data mines from 2020, along with Gyroids. However, it’s unclear whether this is a planned feature for the game or whether Brewster was abandoned.
Even if the new Animal Crossing content isn’t in the data mine, it’s unclear whether it will be as large as Doug Bowser says. Despite its continued success, the game is no longer at its height, and it will take more than a few extra things to provide the game with the material it so urgently craves at this point in its existence. So, for the time being, fans can only wait for the next Animal Crossing: New Horizons update to be revealed and see what it has to offer.
