Nintendo releasedAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsback in 2020 and its lifecycle has officially concluded, meaning the Nintendo Switch exclusive will no longer receive support. This makes the last major update for the Switch title the one that was released in November, resulting in a 2022 void of newNew Horizonscontent.
Although Nintendo is ending DLC support forAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, support continues to roll out forAnimal Crossing: Pocket Campwhich was released even longer ago in 2017.Animal Crossing: New Horizonsreceived support for a total of 595 days, whilePocket Campis at 1,528 days of support. The final big update forAnimal Crossing: New Horizonswas released on November 5, giving fans of the game more DIY recipes to create new furniture with.
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Reception and Revenue for Animal Crossing
Nintendo released the Happy Home Paradise expansion forAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsjust last year, making it the sole expansion for the popularAnimal Crossingtitle.Animal Crossing: New Horizonshas sold over 34 million copies to become one of the most successful Nintendo Switch titles behind onlyMario Kart 8 Deluxewhich has reached nearly 39 million copies sold. So far Happy Home Paradise has yet to sell one million units, making the home furnishing expansion far less downloaded than the full game.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonswas released with the promise of content updates bringing much more to the game as the calendar unfolded. Nintendo added several things toAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsthrough the 2.0 update such as Brewster and Kapp’n or an earlier one that brought Leif to the island’s plaza. These new characters came with their own unique personalities, while players could drink coffee at theAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsMuseum Cafeand purchase shrubs for their island as a result of them being added.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Campreceived a large update as recently as today and there’s no sign of the mobile game support ending any time soon. UnlikeNew Horizonsand its one additional expansion,Pocket Campfeatures microtransactions like Fortune Cookies and Leaf Tickets. The mobileAnimal Crossingtitle also includes various memberships like The Happy Helper Plan and The Cookie and Depot Plan that cost a monthly subscription fee likeNintendo Switch Online, which is one of the few ways Nintendo would continue making money offNew Horizonsif it never added new content to the game again.
It’s currently unclear why Nintendo has decided to stop support forAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, but some fans are speculating it’s becausePocket Campis so much more profitable. It’s also notable that Apple and Google receive 30% of the revenue fromAnimal Crossing: Pocket Camptransactions. However,Pocket Camp’s reception isn’t nearly as shining asNew Horizons', and many fans have grown weary of how much the mobile title has begged for players to spend money. Due toNew Horizons' significant sales success in becoming the highest-sellingAnimal Crossingtitle to date, fans may see more of the franchise in the future.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis available now for Nintendo Switch.
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