Animal Crossing Fans Could Be In for a Good Year, Here’s Why

Animal Crossing fans could be in for a good year, as there are plenty of things going on with the franchise set for 2026.

While the franchise hasn’t quite had the same boom as Nintendo’s other mascots like Mario and Zelda, Animal Crossing has seen a huge uptick in fans since the release of New Horizons in 2020.

But with it now being almost six years since the release of that game, fans are wondering when the series will make its next big return in the form of a new game.

Well, that may not be the case for a while, but we still have quite a bit to look forward to.

Animal Crossing New Horizons Gets A Huge Free Update Later This Month

Following last year’s launch of the Switch 2, Nintendo has announced a new free update will be coming to the game later this month.

The update includes the new resort hotel, where you work together with Kapp’n’s family to turn the island into a dream holiday destination. It also features new items, tasks, and other features like Resetti’s Reset Service which allows you to tidy up your island.

Switch 2 users will also be able to take advantage of some of the console’s exclusive features and hardware improvements. This adds support for 4K resolutions, mouse controls when redecorating your home, and online multiplayer expanding up to 12 players on a single island.

The free 3.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons drops on 15 January, 2026, so you don’t have long to go before you can get your hands on it.

Image shows characters from Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo

Meanwhile, 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the Animal Crossing series. While Nintendo hasn’t made any official announcements regarding this anniversary, it’s possible that we could be getting more stuff later in the year.

With the Nintendo Switch 2 including support for GameCube games via Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions, it’s possible that the original Animal Crossing could be added to that roster of games this year.

Animal Crossing has not been announced as part of the Nintendo Classics being added to the GameCube app, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be coming. It'd certainly be the right time to do it.

As for whether or not we’ll get a new game announcement, it still feels too early to me for Nintendo to reveal a new Animal Crossing game.

Although it’s been six years since New Horizons came out, Nintendo will probably prefer to hype up Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream as part of its current-gen social simulation game for the time being.