Summary
Animal Crossing: New Horizonstook 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 fromAnimal 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 asurprise update toAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsbased on a number of new marketing materials andAnimal 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 surpriseAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsupdate could take, but a few potential feature additions would make this update particularly exciting.
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Multiplayer Mini-Games
One of thebest parts ofAnimal Crossing: New Leafwas 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 inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, but a surprise update could fix that.
More Nintendo-Themed Items
TheAnimal Crossingseries has a history of including special items based on other popular Nintendo franchises likeMario,Zelda, andMetroid. WhileAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsdid feature theSuper Marioset 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 likeThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomandPikmin 4.
Returning Villagers
AlthoughAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsalready 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 likeDozer, Woolio, Belle, and Cupcakecould 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 theAnimal Crossingseries, but the franchise’s mascot fashionista is severely underutilized inAnimal 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 inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons. WhileAnimal Crossing’s Labelfills 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 offruit available inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonshas also been scaled back compared to its predecessors.Animal Crossing: New Leaffeatured 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.
