Animal Crossing: New Horizons brought the series to the Nintendo Switch and enjoyed explosive popularity at launch. The newest entry added a lot to the series, allowing players to customize the layout of an entire deserted island as well as introducing crafting for the first time in the series. Animal Crossing: New Horizons also retained what made fans love the series in the first, place, letting players talk with villagers, collect fossils, go fishing, and repeatedly customize their character and homes. The game even allows players to visit one another's islands, which helped boost its popularity as many players picked the game up while quarantining at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.
However, one of the biggest additions brought to Animal Crossing in New Horizons was post-launch updates that allowed Nintendo to keep adding to the game and developing it. While many fans think that Nintendo has not done enough with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the developers have released numerous updates for the game. The updates brought a wide variety of additions, from entirely new features to returning characters and themed items. Since Nintendo confirmed that there are more updates planned for the game this year, now is a great time to look back at all of what has been added to Animal Crossing: New Horizons so far.
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The first update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released on March 19, 2020, a day before the game was officially released. The update was relatively small, but it did add the Spring Bunny Day event, hosted by the Zipper T. Bunny character. The event saw players collecting a variety of dyed eggs by performing different actions in the game, which could be used to craft a variety of limited-time items that were also themed around Bunny Day. The event received a lukewarm reception, leading Nintendo to update Bunny Day in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for 2021 with some fine-tuned adjustments.
The next update came on April 23, 2020, in the form of the Earth Day Update. This update added a lot to Animal Crossing New Horizons. The new traveling merchant Leif was introduced as well as new bushes that players could purchase from him. The Earth Day Update also saw the return of Redd, a suspicious art merchant that sometimes sells players counterfeit merchandise or even art pieces that will haunt Animal Crossing: New Horizons players. Real versions of the art pieces can be placed in the art wing of the museum which was also added in the update.
The Earth Day Update also introduced a number of new events to the game. Most of them were smaller events like Nature Day, May Day, and International Museum Day. However, it also added Wedding Season, which added a number of new wedding-themed items to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It also allowed players to set up complicated photoshoots for anniversary photos and saw series characters Reese and Cyrus making their first appearance in the game.
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Summer Update was released in two waves, with the first wave launching on July 3. The first wave added the first major new mechanic to Animal Crossing: New Horizons that allowed players to dive underwater to catch deep-sea creatures. The new feature expanded the number of fish that players could catch and donate to the museum while also introducing a variety of pirate and mermaid-themed items for players to collect and craft. The added items opened up a lot of creative options for players, one of which even made a pirate-themed mini-golf course in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The second wave of the Summer Update was released on July 30. The update added a number of new items that were part of its new Fireworks Show seasonal event. The items included a variety of different fireworks, balloons, and other celebratory items for players to throw better parties with. The second wave of the update also added the new dreaming feature. Dreaming allows players to visit the islands of other players that opt-in to the feature while they aren't playing. The mechanic proved to be a great way for players to see more of the game and explore other Animal Crossing: New Horizon players' islands without having to know them.
The Fall Update was released on September 30 and focused on the new Halloween event. The event included a new character named Jack that hosted it and could only be played on October 31. The update included a new candy item that could be purchased from Nook's Cranny for players to give to their villagers as well as allowing players to grow pumpkins for use in crafting recipes. The event also allowed players to unlock Halloween-themed items, purchase costumes, and paint the faces of their characters, while also decorating some stores with Halloween decor. The festivities were made all the better by players sharing their design codes for custom-made Halloween apparel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The Winter Update focused on two events, Turkey Day and Toy Day. Turkey Day featured a number of craftable items that could be used by players to make an entire Turkey Day-themed room. Toy Day, however, added a number of toy items for players to either purchase at Nook's Cranny or earn through the event's host, Jingle. The update also added some quality of life features, like allowing players to increase the size of their home storage, more items for smaller events centered around Valentine's Day and the Super Bowl, new hairstyles, and save data transfer. However, the Winter Update did impede Animal Crossing: New Horizons players who use time travel, which some players were quite frustrated with.
The most recent update released for Animal Crossing New Horizons was the Super Mario 35th Anniversary Event released on March 1, 2021. The event included a number of themed items like character costumes, iconic blocks and coins from the series, and warp pipes that allowed players to travel across their islands quickly. Animal Crossing: New Horizons' warp pipes were a bit hit, but many found the update lacking in content to keep them coming back for very long. Hopefully, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' upcoming updates will have more for players to sink their teeth into.
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