The Switch 2 launched about a month ago. And if you are part of the Animal Crossing community, you know that the community is on the edge of their seats. Why? Because the rumor is that a new Animal Crossing game will be announced for the Switch 2 with a release date in 2026. I don’t think that’s the case, and here is why.
Animal Crossing is not a Launch Game
As much as the Animal Crossing community loves this series of games, Animal Crossing is not generally a launch game. Typically Animal Crossing games have come out between 10 months – 3 years after the launch of the console on which it is played. The following list details the North American releases of consoles/handhelds and their respective mainstream Animal Crossing game releases (we are not counting Amiibo Festival or Happy Home Designer as those are spin-off games, not mainstream games).
- The GameCube was released on November 18, 2001 with Animal Crossing being released on September 16, 2002 (10 months)
- The DS was released on November 21, 2004 with Animal Crossing Wild World being released on November 23, 2005 (1 year)
- The Wii was released in November 2006 with Animal Crossing City Folk being released in November of 2008. (2 years)
- The 3DS was released on March 27, 2011 with Animal Crossing New Leaf being released on June 9, 2013 (2 years, 3 months)
- The Switch was released on March 3, 2017 with Animal Crossing New Horizons being released on March 20, 2020 (3 years, 17 days)
As you can see, Animal Crossing is not a launch game with the shortest time to release after console launch is 10 months between GameCube and Animal Crossing/Animal Crossing Population Growing.
Not Every Console/Handheld has Received an Animal Crossing Game
If you pay attention to how the consoles and handhelds have been released, not all of them received new mainstream Animal Crossing games. Typically the ones that didn’t were directly backwards-compatible with the console or handheld that was released right before them. For example:
- The DS and DSi – the DSi was capable of playing DS games, and while it did have its own games, it did not receive an Animal Crossing title as it could simply play Wild World.
- The Wii and Wii U – the Wii U was capable of playing Wii games. While we did get Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival for Wii U, that was an Animal Crossing themed video board game, not an actual mainstream Animal Crossing game.
And now we have the Switch 2, which Nintendo made a big deal out of pointing out it could play the games from the Switch – including Animal Crossing New Horizons. So why would Nintendo bring out a new Animal Crossing game when New Horizons is playable on the Switch?
Looking at the history of the consoles/handhelds, it seems when they have an Animal Crossing game and the new console/handheld is a variant of the previous one, DS > DSi/Wii > Wii U, the new variant doesn’t get its own Animal Crossing game.
We are Still Playing New Horizons
Come on, let’s be honest here. We’re still playing New Horizons. The community hasn’t died out for New Horizons like it did for New Leaf. I remember the community for New Leaf. I remember how it was strong until about mid-2017, after the Switch was released. Then all anyone would talk about was “when will they put out Animal Crossing for Switch?” and content for New Leaf started to wane. By 2018, most of my favorite New Leaf creators had stopped posting.
But, we are still making custom codes and sharing them. we are still streaming game play on Twitch and YouTube. We are still making videos on YouTube/YouTube Shorts, Instagram/Facebook Reels, and TikTok. We are still posting still shots of our islands and new Dream Addresses on Instagram. We are still starting new islands, some of us on the Switch 2. So why would Nintendo put out a new game when it doesn’t look like we are truly tired of New Horizons?
But Could They Still Release a New Animal Crossing Game?
Sure. Nintendo could absolutely decide to release a new Animal Crossing game. I mean, just because there is “historical evidence” that they might not, it doesn’t mean they won’t. The question is, would it be mainstream (New Leaf, New Horizons) or would it be a spin off (Amiibo Festival, Happy Home Designer)? Also, how long would they wait? Lately it’s been a good 2-3 years at least before a new game comes out. And again, with Switch 2 being directly backwards compatible with Switch, would they even bother since you can still play New Horizons on the Switch 2?
Personally, based on Nintendo’s track record listed above, I don’t think Nintendo will bring out a new Animal Crossing game for the Switch 2. If they do, it will likely be another 2-3 years with the way they’ve been going with developing these games.
Now, this is just my opinion on the matter, based on research I’ve done into the way in which Nintendo releases Animal Crossing games. I could be totally wrong. But at this point, one month after launch, I wouldn’t worry too much about when the new game will be announced or released. It will come when it comes and if it doesn’t, well, it probably means that Nintendo is already working on the Switch 2’s successor.
UPDATE 12/13/2025: When we consider that Nintendo is releasing a major update to ACNH in January 2026 that extends ACNH and adds new features, I don't forsee a new game in the near future. Again, Nintendo could put out a new Animal Crossing game for the Switch 2, but if they do, I don't think it will be any time soon.