Animal Crossing style game in the works at Genshin Impact studio, insider says

The Animal Crossing series will always be one of my favourites. As much as destroying tough bosses in Elden Ring is super satisfying, and uncovering a deep, emotionally enthralling story in a huge RPG like Xenoblade Chronicles is incredible, sometimes it’s just nice to sit back and do friendly, neighbourly activities with a town or island full of animal residents, catch fish, and decorate a virtual house with cute objects.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons released at arguably the very best and very worst time when it hit Nintendo Switch in March 2020. While for many it was a great source of wholesome entertainment when the world was locked down, those same circumstances also meant that many of us played it a lot more than we were really meant to all at once. After all, Animal Crossing is a relaxing, real-time life-simulation game - you’re not really meant to grind away at it all day long for weeks and months on end.

Take a look at our review of Animal Crossing: New Horizons below.

Maybe it’s because of this that it didn’t seem to take long for some players to get bored of New Horizons. I can’t say I relate because I played daily for over a year straight, but it was (and still is) a common complaint amongst the fanbase that they don’t feel like there’s anything left to do in the Switch title anymore - especially now that content updates have stopped.

However, if you’re someone who’s been craving a new game to scratch that Animal Crossing itch, there’s apparently one in the works by Genshin Impact publisher HoYoverse. As Dexerto reports, whispers of a “casual simulation-style game” began circling on Twitter last month, and earlier this week, Twitch streamer SipSipStefen seemingly shared an image of the game. While the image has since been removed due to a copyright strike, the streamer described the game as “a direct Animal Crossing competitor”.

While the evidence seems to be lining up, HoYoverse is yet to confirm if the rumours are true, so take it all with a pinch of salt for now.