Summary
- Despite the final content update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons being released in 2021, there is a fan theory suggesting a surprise update based on new marketing materials and Animal Crossing-themed products.
- Potential feature additions in a surprise update could include multiplayer mini-games, more Nintendo-themed items, returning villagers, and the reopening of GracieGrace boutique for trendy fashion options.
- The game could also benefit from adding more fruit options and perfect fruit, giving players a reason to explore different islands and find rare variants.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons took the world by storm when it released in March 2020, and in the months following its launch received a series of content updates to keep players invested in maintaining their islands. While these updates added a lot of features that were initially missing from Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there are still some fan-requested features that never ended up in the game. In November 2021, Nintendo released the 2.0 Update for the game that was billed as the final content update, leaving it unlikely that certain features would ever be added.
However, a recent fan theory suggests Nintendo might be planning a surprise update to Animal Crossing: New Horizons based on a number of new marketing materials and Animal Crossing-themed products. Despite supposedly ending content updates for the game two years ago, an update like this could breathe new life into the game and finally introduce features fans have wanted since its original launch. There are a lot of directions a surprise Animal Crossing: New Horizons update could take, but a few potential feature additions would make this update particularly exciting.
Multiplayer Mini-Games
One of the best parts of Animal Crossing: New Leaf was the multiplayer content that was available via Island Tours on Tortimer Island. Being able to play mini-games like Ballon Hunt, Hide-and-Seek, and Item Matching with friends was a fun way for players to connect online. As a game that emphasizes visiting other players' islands, it's a shame that these mini-games didn't return in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but a surprise update could fix that.
More Nintendo-Themed Items
The Animal Crossing series has a history of including special items based on other popular Nintendo franchises like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. While Animal Crossing: New Horizons did feature the Super Mario set of clothing and furniture items, other franchises that have been represented in past titles were left out. A surprise update could go all-in on the Nintendo crossover items and feature special clothes and furniture from games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Pikmin 4.
Returning Villagers
Although Animal Crossing: New Horizons already added 16 new villagers to the franchise on top of the 397 villagers returning from past titles, there are still some villagers missing that could be added in a surprise update. Classic villagers like Dozer, Woolio, Belle, and Cupcake could make a return to the franchise with this update to further expand players' island community options. The 2.0 Update already added a handful of villagers, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for a surprise update to do so as well.
GracieGrace
Clothing and fashion have always played a big role in the Animal Crossing series, but the franchise's mascot fashionista is severely underutilized in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Gracie the giraffe has historically been the go-to NPC for all things high fashion but only appears as a potential Roost and Photopia invitee in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. While Animal Crossing's Label fills the role of fashion guru in this game, Gracie deserves to re-open her upscale boutique GracieGrace to give the player trendy new fashion options in a surprise update.
More Fruit Options and Perfect Fruit
The variety of fruit available in Animal Crossing: New Horizons has also been scaled back compared to its predecessors. Animal Crossing: New Leaf featured tropical fruits like lemons, lychees, mangos, and persimmons that could be obtained from Tortimer Island, as well as perfect variants of a fruit that can sell for far more Bells than ordinary fruit. For a game that features the ability to travel to different islands, it would make sense to give players more of a reason to explore these destinations with new types of fruit and the chance to find perfect variants.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available for Nintendo Switch.