Animal Crossing fans pay heartwarming tribute to game shutdown

An Animal Crossing game has shut down, and fans are paying tribute to the memories they have of playing it.

Animal Crossing is a huge sensation, to the point where every new launch feels like a big event in itself. You only need to look at how big New Horizons was for Nintendo during 2020.

So with new Animal Crossing games being as big as they are, it’s also a massive deal when one shuts down.

Here's our three minute review of Animal Crossing New Horizons.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has now shut down on mobile devices as of today. Although we’ve known of the shutdown date since August, it hasn’t stopped people keeping up the community spirit on social media.

In an official post by the Pocket Camp team on X (formerly Twitter), the developers posted: “Online service for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has ended. Thank you for playing.”

Underneath the post are hundreds of replies from people paying tribute to the game, sharing photos and memories of their time in Pocket Camp.

“I'm truly heartbroken, but I'm excited to see what the future holds,” wrote user Jay, sharing a photo of their camp. “Still, I'll never stop missing all my friends I played with! You guys are part of what made this game so special.”

Another user wrote: “Thank you for creating Pocket Camp, campers were a great companion in all my moments and playing it was like a big hug for my soul. I will miss you very much”.

I’ll pop a couple more of my favourite posts below here.

My last few pictures <3 Haven’t played as much lately but this game carried me throughout the pandemic! pic.twitter.com/ev7L6FqwRJ

— 🍒 | Ocean / Elsie ♡ (@HllROYANO) November 28, 2024

The last 5 minutes: pic.twitter.com/gP34gcHuBs

— Piotrek1113 (@Piotrek1113) November 28, 2024

It’s worth noting that this isn’t the end for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. The game will breathe life anew in another form in the coming days.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete will launch on 3rd December, priced at $19.99. It features all previous items and events, as well as another year of new content. However, online features have been disabled to ensure it can be completely playable offline.

App shutdowns can be tragic, especially when certain games bring joy and light to players’ lives. At least Pocket Camp players can rest easy knowing that the game will still live on in one shape or another.