GameRant - Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Gets Brand-New Update

Katie Schutze — Fri, 01 May 2026 15:24:26 GMT

Following its 25th series anniversary update on April 13, Animal Crossing: New Horizons version 3.0.3 has gone live. The Nintendo Switch game is the latest entry in the beloved Animal Crossing series of life simulators, where players take control of a lone human living their day-to-day life in a neighborhood of animal villagers. Whether you want to befirend your neighbors, pay off your loan, or build the greatest house on the island, the low stakes and adorable aesthetic won the hearts of many. Animal Crossing: New Horizons, in particular, did so well that it became the best-selling entry in the series and the second highest-selling Switch game overall.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Gets New 3.0.2 Update and a Free Goodie for April 2026

Sarah Fields — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:46:51 GMT

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has received a new 3.0.2 update, and alongside it, a special free goodie for players to enjoy. The Animal Crossing: New Horizons freebie arrives in honor of the series' 25th anniversary.

Best Games Like Animal Crossing That Are Much More Hardcore

Katelyn Mitchell Jewett — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:30:16 GMT

The Animal Crossing games are the definition of cozy, chill, and relaxing. Sure, paying off your debts to Tom Nook or encountering an uncomfortable number of tarantulas at once can be a little stressful, but the games are generally slow-paced and forgiving. They have no combat, few deadlines, and a friendly and light-hearted tone. However, if you're looking for something with Animal Crossing's collection, social, or town building elements, but also some more hardcore additions such as survival, combat, tighter deadlines, or all of the above, try checking out any of the games on this list. These games all share similarities with Animal Crossingin some way, but also offer a more intense gameplay experience for those players looking for a bit of a rush.

Nintendo Gives Disappointing Response to Question About Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Future

Matthew Schomer — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 16:30:15 GMT

The future of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is back in question after the release of its big 3.0 update early in the year, with one top Nintendo of America official recently reporting that there are no additional plans related to the game that are ready for announcement at this point in time. While that doesn't necessarily mean the end of updates for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it does leave a question mark about when players can expect to see more content added, and if it's coming at all.

Pokemon Pokopia Solves Animal Crossing's Biggest Villager Problem

Drew Swanson — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 20:30:15 GMT

Despite the Pokemon series having over 1,000 creatures as of Gen 9, Pokopia only contains around 300 species for players to find. Comparatively, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has over 400 villagers on its roster, making it far more difficult to find a needle in a haystack, so to speak. New Horizons only allows players to have 10 villagers living on their island at a time, whereas Pokopia players can have any number of Pokemon residents as long as they have built a habitat for them to live in. Coupled with the method for recruiting Pokemon from a friend's island, Pokopia has created the ideal blueprint for villager collecting that the next Animal Crossing should follow.

Pokémon Pokopia Fills the Animal Crossing Void on Switch 2

Fellipe Moica — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 16:00:15 GMT

Description: Pokémon Pokopia is the internet’s latest obsession and as you’d expect it is frequently being compared to Nintendo’s last massive crafting game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. While ACNH was a success, Pokémon Pokopia outclasses it in a number of ways especially in the fun factor. While fans of one will find a lot to love in the other, this is why Pokémon Pokopia is the new number one.

New Open-World Game on Steam is Overcooked, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Stardew Valley Rolled into 1 Whimsical Adventure

Richard Warren — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 12:00:15 GMT

When gamers think of Overcooked, the first word that likely comes to mind is “chaos.” No matter how good a group’s relationships are prior to entering the kitchen of the hectic co-op title, someone is likely to get angry during the shift, as simple mistakes and a little miscommunication can cause everything to fall apart fast. At the same time, getting into a good flow and succeeding at Overcooked is incredibly satisfying, explaining why it’s one of many popular options that the friendslop genre has to offer. It is, however, hugely different from the cozy game staples Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which is why the Steam game Pao Pao being comparable to all three is so intriguing.

Pokemon Pokopia Does This Key Animal Crossing Feature Better Than New Horizons

Drew Swanson — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 22:30:15 GMT

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has seen its fair share of criticisms over the years, with hardcore fans lamenting the vanilla villager personalities and limited post-launch content. While Animal Crossing: New Horizons recently released update 3.0 to address some of its standing quality-of-life and content complaints, there is still a lingering problem with the game that prevents many players from restarting or creating a new island. Pokemon Pokopia essentially solves this problem and, in turn, creates the perfect alternative to Animal Crossing: New Horizons for players who like the format but were dissatisfied with how slow the early-game progression is.

How Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is Different From Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Katie Schutze — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 12:00:14 GMT

Over 12 years after the last Tomodachi Life game, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream will finally launch on Nintendo Switch on April 16, 2026. A goofy and cute simulation game, the latest Mii game will let players customize their own islands not just in appearance, but in the residents that live there. Each real-life day, they’ll be able to check on their islanders by talking to them or giving them gifts like clothes or decorations. Overall, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream will be the perfect game for players wanting to carve out their own unique island life….which is what makes it sound like a clone of Nintendo’s biggest life simulator ever, Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Gets New 3.0.1 Update for February 2026

Joshua Duckworth — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:08:47 GMT

January 2026 saw the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Switch 2 edition, and a new update brings further improvements to the game's performance (and a few other issues). Animal Crossing: New Horizons' 3.0 update and Switch 2 edition brought players flocking back to the game, and the recent update should help keep them a little longer, too.