Final News Round-Up For Animal Crossing: New Horizons Version 3.0 Before Launch!

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We’re just a few days from the launch of Version 3.0 for Animal Crossing: New Horizons and associated Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, so let’s check out six final pieces of news before release!

For those eagerly awaiting and counting down the hours and searching for every piece of news you can find, here’s a quick round-up of the latest tidbits of information and details that have surfaced for Animal Crossing: New Horizons Version 3.0 in recent days…

New Kapp’n Post from Isabelle on X

Following up on our previous report of Isabelle’s debut post covering the Version 3.0 update, there’s a new post out on the Animal Crossing X accounts this morning teasing the Resort Hotel’s imminent opening through an in-universe announcement from Isabelle:

Unlike the first post from Isabelle, this isn’t a directly copied screenshot from October’s press kit. But while it might look new at first glance, upon closer inspection, it’s sadly just a snapshot from a very brief scene in the original update trailer.

Kapp’n looks to have put away his sunglasses from Version 2.0 and swapped them out for a new sunhat in Version 3.0. We can also see a music note appearing near his face, potentially indicating that he might hum tunes while parked at the pier on occasion now?

What’s much more interesting than the screenshot might be the accompanying text itself — in both the translated Japanese and the official English version from Nintendo of Europe shown above.

We’ve long assumed that there would likely be some sort of in-game process for ‘building’ or otherwise opening the Resort Hotel that might take a day or two, much like upgrading the Museum to include Brewster’s The Roost or many other upgrades in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

But if one is to take these posts on X literally, they both strongly imply that the Resort Hotel might be immediately available for existing players after the update, since an opening or completion on January 15th is explicitly mentioned. We’re really not sure if this should be taken literally or not.

Anyway, let’s hope to see something a little more new come from Isabelle in these final days! In the past, Nintendo typically had more to offer in pre-release teases, but perhaps that’s just too much to expect this time?

Free Visual Switch 2 Update in Handheld Mode

While an increase in graphics quality to 4K resolution on Nintendo Switch 2 will require the paid Upgrade Pack or Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there’s better news for handheld players.

According to an update this week to Nintendo of America’s page listing free Nintendo Switch 2 updates, the Version 3.0 Update will optimize visuals for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and improve image quality:

On a more technical level, the original Nintendo Switch ran Animal Crossing: New Horizons at roughly 1080p resolution in TV Mode and 720p resolution in Handheld Mode. The original system’s display could only display an image at 720p anyway, so this reflected the sharpest resolution possible.

It’s highly likely that the aforementioned optimization means Animal Crossing: New Horizons will now run at 1080p resolution in Handheld Mode, reflecting the new display maximum of 1080p. If you’ve ever noticed that playing New Horizons portably on your Nintendo Switch 2 felt a bit blurry or otherwise ‘off’, this update should address that.

So, why is this upgrade in Handheld Mode free, while the 4K upgrade in TV Mode is paid? Nintendo isn’t saying, but there is some logic to it: technically, Animal Crossing could already be played in 1080p, just not in Handheld Mode. In contrast, the 4K resolution on Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will be entirely new to the game.

For the record, this was also hinted at on the Japanese website a couple of months ago, but it’s worth mentioning again given the confirmation in an official translation now.

Promotional Booklets from Japanese Game Stores

Physical promotional booklets or brochures that you can take home with you are fortunately still quite commonplace in Japan, unlike much of the world that has phased these out. Accordingly, there are a few different materials going around right now for Animal Crossing: New Horizons promoting the update and Nintendo Switch 2 version!

Inside the booklet, there are a few pages dedicated to the update’s many new features. Of particular interest on the Resort Hotel page is a look at the hotel’s room layout in a diagram that shows 8 different rooms for villagers to occupy.

We technically saw a very brief glimpse of an in-game interface similar to this flash on the screen in the original trailer, but it’s been quite under discussed and potentially missed by some fans. This booklet appears to confirm further that we’re likely limited to just 8 different rooms in the Resort Hotel for villagers to occupy at once.

Beyond that, it really is just so nice and cute to see these physical paper materials that we so rarely get to see lately. Kudos to Nintendo for keeping this up over in Japan!

Special thanks to @R_GameTV and @TokyoGameLife for these photos.

Physical Sample Back of Box Details from Southeast Asia

Coming from a game store in Southeast Asia, we’ve got a peek at the physical box art for Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition!

The front is, of course, nothing special at all. It’s simply a match of the original game’s box art from 2020 with additional Nintendo Switch 2 Edition branding.

However, the back of the box does have some changes to highlight the new features available on Nintendo Switch 2. Namely, the potential increase of up to 12 players at once when playing online multiplayer and improved design capabilities with Joy-Con 2 mouse controls.

Compared to the original 2020 edition’s back of box art, the section highlighting Animal Crossing’s real-time and seasonal aspects was cast aside to make room for the new Nintendo Switch 2 focused portions — see a portion of that original box below for comparison.

Curiously, there is absolutely zero mention of any new content from Version 3.0 itself. Furthermore, we were hoping we might see something to indicate whether the update is already included on the cartridge to assist with our release time estimations, but there’s nothing to be found. Perhaps it won’t be after all?

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to track down the original source for these Switch 2 box art photos, but please reach out if that’s you.

Animal Crossing Switch 2 Upgrade Pack Tops Nintendo eShop Charts

The folks over at Nintendo Everything keep track of the best seller charts on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 each week, and this week brought the Upgrade Pack for Animal Crossing: New Horizons to the #1 spot!

Here’s the top ten list for the week of January 11th, 2026:

1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons Upgrade Pack
2. Donkey Kong Bananza
3. Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
4. Mario Kart World
5. Kirby Air Riders
6. Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV
7. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
8. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
9. Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
10. EA Sports FC 26

Although most of the hype we’re seeing surrounding Animal Crossing is coming from the Version 3.0 Update and not the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, it’s interesting to see how well the Upgrade Pack itself is selling so far.

Preview Music for Kapp’n Resort Hotel

This last detail is actually a few days old, but we never shared it on our website as it didn’t seem to justify a standalone post — it’s worth mentioning here though.

Thanks to the Nintendo Switch Online app’s news page promoting Animal Crossing profile icons, we’ve got a 30 second preview of a new in-game music track heard inside the Resort Hotel in Version 3.0! It plays on the news page when viewing using a Nintendo Switch 2; original Switch owners only get a static page.

You can also give it a listen in the X post embed below:

A small portion of this track could be heard in the background of October’s Version 3.0 trailer, but now we can hear it without the announcement voiceover getting in the way! It’s a great wholesome tune that loops pretty well even in the preview form and builds up some serious hype.

Some listeners have pointed out as well that this music might just be intended as a remix of the classic Tortimer Island track from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I can kind of hear it, but also not? Take a listen below and judge yourself:

While the Version 3.0 Update is officially scheduled for release on Thursday, January 15th, there isn’t yet a specific release time available. We analyze the most likely times of release over at Expected Release Time & Date For Version 3.0 Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update if you haven’t read that yet.

Stay tuned to Animal Crossing World for everything on the upcoming Version 3.0 Update of Animal Crossing: New Horizons! Follow us on X, Facebook, Bluesky, and our mailing list below for updates. Or check out our most popular guides like Redd Art, Bush Types & Colors, Villager Houses, Sea Creatures, and K.K. Slider Songs.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons News Version 3.0 Update