Nintendo Switch drops free Animal Crossing download to get you through January

Nintendo Switch users have another round of freebies to claim, this time with an Animal Crossing theme.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was a solid entry for the series, and it came at a time of great need for Nintendo fans around the world. It's just a shame it wasn’t supported longer.

See Animal Crossing: New Horizons in action below.

The good thing about Animal Crossing though is that it’s fun for however long you want it to be, and there are still plenty of people still enjoying New Horizons in 2025, many of which will want to see the latest Nintendo Switch Online freebies.

We’re, of course, talking about icons, the collectable pictures used to make your profile picture look presentable to other players, and just about the only thing Nintendo will willingly give away for free.

You can now claim icons of some of your favourite characters and villagers from the game, including my personal favourite, Roald the Penguin.

Also featured is Tom Nook, Daisy Mae, Timmy and Tommy and many more, so if your favourite is on the list now’s the time to grab them for 10 platinum points a pop - Nintendo's free currency.

The list of characters in Animal Crossing games is huge, like ridiculously huge, to the point they physically couldn’t all fit on the list, so if your favourites haven’t made the cut this time around, fear not as they’ll probably be featured at a later date.

Looking ahead though, I think we can all agree that it’s time for another Animal Crossing game, and with the Nintendo Switch 2 reportedly arriving sooner rather than later, there’s a good chance of getting one.

Who knows what the setting will be this time around though, as we’ve done villages, cities, islands and more so it’ll be interesting to see what’s added, brought back, or mixed together for a new entry.