Rev up your seaplane! Animal Crossing: New Horizons is back with its first major update after four long years. The news was confirmed in a monster 12-and-a-half-minute-long announcement trailer on October 30th.
In early 2026, you’ll be able to head back to your islands to enjoy some (huge) new features. Switch 2 players can enjoy even more new functionality, including microphone integrations and new ways to decorate using the Joy-Con’s built-in mouse.
The surprise update consists of some huge gameplay overhauls, ranging from services to make island life a little easier, all the way up to a completely new hotel that you’ll need to help run.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update 3.0 – Everything we know so far
If the launch trailer is anything to go by, then Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ update is going to be a complete game-changer. Excuse the pun.
The gargantuan list of new additions includes:
- A swish resort run by Kapp’n’s family
- Resseti’s reset service
- Larger storage for all your island renovations
- Collaborations and tie-ins, both with other Nintendo IP and LEGO
- More ways to play with Amiibos
- Customisable Slumber Islands, visitable with the help of Luna
All of these features will be available for both Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 owners when the update drops.
Get ready to run a hotel, dream up new worlds, and hang out with new villagers
There are all kinds of new things coming to Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the new year. It’s mostly very building-oriented, but it still seems like there’s enough to cater to a wide range of playstyles.
Perhaps the biggest addition (or at least the most exciting) is the grand opening of the Resort Hotel, a sprauncy place for villagers to stay at the end of the pier. Although the Tortimer family run the joint, they need you to help decorate each room to help lure different tourists over to visit your island.
Worried your island’s too much of a mess for tourists to swing by after being gone for so long? Don’t fret – Resetti’s reset service is here. This time, instead of yelling at you for switching off your console/having a power cut/losing your DS charger, he’ll actually help you out with cleaning and tidying up your island. You’ll also have more storage to play with, meaning you can put away whatever you want.
If you’re less interested in your island’s trade and tourism, you can look forward to drifting off to visit three custom-made Slumber Islands instead. You can build these to your exact specs and desires, and even invite villagers and friends to hang out there.
In case an island-inside-an-island-in-a-dream all sounds a bit too Paprika for you, then you can still enjoy a little meta gameplay another way by playing a game-within-a-game. Still with me? A few new special items allow Switch Online members to enjoy a little retro gaming inside of Animal Crossing itself.
Lastly, loads of new items and a couple new villagers are on their way. You can expect all of these to be themed around other Nintendo franchises, like Splatoon and The Legend of Zelda. Oh, and LEGO, for some reason.
Playing on the Switch 2? You’ll get a few extras
The Switch 2 update offers a few more features:
- Improved graphics, up to 4K in TV mode
- Increased capacity for online multiplayer (increasing from eight to twelve players)
- Game Chat integration, including CameraPlay
- All-new mouse controls for decorating, design creation, and bulletin board updates
- A microphone-enabled megaphone
Those of us who were glued to New Leaf will probably remember the megaphone well. But, just in case you weren’t, the megaphone is a tool you can use to call for villagers through your console’s microphone. Yelling at Punchy the cat from the opposite side of your island is once more a possibility, thanks to the Switch 2’s built-in microphone.
(Now do Nintendogs.)
So, when is the Animal Crossing 3.0 Update coming out?
Both the update and the Switch 2 version are set to arrive on January 15th. Best get cleaning up your islands and making the rounds to reintroduce yourself to your neighbours already.
You can also pre-order the Switch 2 Upgrade Pack from today.
Do we have to pay for it?
Depends.
Planning on enjoying it on your original Switch? You’ll get it for free. However, if you want to upgrade to the Switch 2, there will unfortunately be a small cost. You’ll need to get the upgrade for the weirdly specific price of £4.19.
A couple of new features are kind of paywalled, though. If you want to use the new official Nintendo tie-in items to enjoy a spot of retro gaming or hope to hang out with friends, then you’ll need to pay for the Nintendo Switch Online subscription. The same goes for Slumber Islands, which are only accessible online.
Similarly, if you want to enjoy CameraPlay, you’re going to need to buy the right peripherals on top of your subscription.
Another feature that you’ll need to pay for is Amiibos. You’ll need to buy any figures you want separately. Thankfully, the days of needing a separate NFC reader for Amiibos are long gone, though, as you can read them directly with your Joy-Con, Pro-Controller, or Switch Lite.
Watch the trailer here
You can see exactly what Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ update has on offer for yourself in the new launch trailer.
