When Is the Next Animal Crossing Game Coming Out

4/7/2024 2:18:28 PM

New Horizons, which was the latest mainline entry in the Animal Crossing series, released in 2020, when will be the next Animal Crossing come out? With the rumors going around the internet, today we’ll talk about the new Animal Crossing game release date and potential ideas.

New Animal Crossing Game Release Date

Concerning the new Animal Crossing game, nothing has been officially announced yet, while there is a speculated time based on the leaks and development schedule.

New Animal Crossing Game Release Date

Recently, a tweet raised the discussion about the next Animal Crossing, according to the leak, a new game is in development and it will be the ultimate version, the release date of the new Animal Crossing game after New Horizons is claimed to be 2026, along with a new series.

When will the next Animal Crossing game be announced? Major announcements are usually 6-12 months before release at most. A new Switch announcement this year could plant seeds for the next AC game without confirming anything concrete yet. If the goal is to launch the game in 2026, then an announcement in 2025 would be an ideal time to tease the follow-up updates.

Next Animal Crossing Game Ideas, Concepts & Features

The rumored concepts include moving around in vehicles, a large city with skyscrapers, adventure missions, mini-games, and improved multiplayer. A new in-game economy system could add more depth to collecting and selling items. A large shopping center area where you can open your store and sell custom designs to other players. Specific stores like furniture, clothing, and vehicle workshops can be added to expand the shopping aspects. Mini-games like vehicle races and activities like cake throwing for birthdays could add welcomed variety. Many fans have indeed wanted more substantial online/multiplayer components after New Horizons, so proposed features may be tuned that way. Prior Animal Crossing teams have brainstormed many ideas that didn't make the final cut due to time or feasibility constraints, the next game could revisit discarded New Horizons concepts and ramp up certain existing systems based on demand.

While the concepts could be possible, the specifics this far out could easily change, considering the game cycle, development likely started recently for a 2026 game.

Next Animal Crossing Platform

The leak is not verified and the credibility is unknown, but given the typical release schedule of 5-6 years and ACNH coming out in March 2020, it is reasonable to expect the next Animal Crossing to be released in 2025-2026. The game is likely to come to the Nintendo Switch again or possibly its rumored Switch successor console.

Animal Crossing New Horizons itself had zero leaks, Nintendo is very secretive, and will carefully control spoilers for hugely popular franchises. Further corroborating details from proven sources would be needed to give rumors more credibility.

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