Nintendo President Explains Why Animal Crossing’s 3.0 Update Released After 4 Years

3 weeks ago

The recent Version 3.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out of seemingly nowhere as a very welcome surprise, but why now?

Many have speculated about various reasons why Nintendo chose to release an Animal Crossing update over 4 years after definitively declaring there would be no more major updates to the game.

Thanks to a question from a Nintendo shareholder at the company’s most recent financial briefing, we have some confirmed insights from Nintendo’s president about the update’s strategy — here’s what the shareholder asked:

This January, a substantial free update was released for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. A sizable free update was also released for Splatoon 3. From a business perspective, what is the reasoning behind releasing these kinds of large-scale free updates for existing Nintendo Switch titles after the release of Nintendo Switch 2?

In response, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed that the update has succeeded in bringing many customers back to Animal Crossing: New Horizons after having taken a long break, including on Nintendo Switch 2:

In January, in addition to the free update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, we released Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Since the update, many consumers, including those who had taken a break from the game for a while, are now playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There also are consumers who have decided to play the game again, but this time on Nintendo Switch 2. As a result, we believe we have gotten off to a good start this year.

He continued his comments to point out the obvious — new games need to release regularly to grow the Nintendo Switch 2 — but that Nintendo feels it’s important to keep Switch 1 players engaged, which is exactly what the Version 3.0 update did:

It is necessary to regularly release new titles to increase the installed base of new hardware. In addition, we believe it is very important to maintain touchpoints with consumers who are active on our gaming systems as the transition from Nintendo Switch to Nintendo Switch 2 unfolds over the next few years.

Much more interestingly, Furukawa remarked that the intention of these updates is to encourage people to keep playing, while they wait for a new game to be released that they’re interested in — like the next Animal Crossing game:

In that sense, by releasing updates for Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Splatoon 3, which both saw high sales volumes on Nintendo Switch, we hope to create a flow where, as consumers continue to play on Nintendo Switch, they will transition to Nintendo Switch 2 when new titles that catch their attention are released. From this perspective, it is meaningful to release updates for Nintendo Switch software, which has a large installed base, to maintain user activity and encourage continued play.

This article originally contained a machine translation from Japanese, but has now been updated with the official English translation from Nintendo above. Some quotes below reference the slightly different previous Japanese version, but the meaning is the same.

Our Commentary & What This Means for Animal Crossing

Generally speaking, Furukawa’s answers match what we expected the strategy to be for Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Version 3.0 update: keep Animal Crossing fans engaged with Nintendo, while we wait a little longer for the next game to be released on Nintendo Switch 2.

There are many fans who are only interested in Animal Crossing, and don’t have that much interest in other Nintendo games, so they’ll need to eventually release a new game exclusive to Switch 2 for those customers to upgrade.

Specifically, the comments about ‘creating a pathway for customers to transition to Switch 2 at their own pace, such as when a new title they’re interested in is released’ seem quite pointed towards the notion that many Animal Crossing fans are likely waiting for the next game to release before upgrading to Nintendo Switch 2.

This explains why the vast majority of the features found with January’s update are available for free to Nintendo Switch 1 players and not exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 — the goal was to keep Switch 1 players engaged until the new game interests them, rather than only driving immediate upgrades to Switch 2 right now.

The Version 3.0 update can perhaps be thought of as a ‘bridge’ for keeping us engaged with the series as Nintendo continues work on developing that next game, while potentially encouraging some fans to make the jump early to play the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition with 4K resolution and other small improvements.

It’s worth mentioning the Nintendo Switch has sophisticated data collection that reports back to Nintendo exactly how many players are loading up the game on a daily basis, returning after a long break, or even exactly what actions we’re taking in-game. They’ll have seen the slow drop-off in activity over the past few years without updates, and exactly how much of a boost came from returning players in January.

When Will the Next Animal Crossing Release?

The question remains though — when will the next new Animal Crossing game for Nintendo Switch 2 arrive? Our takeaway from these Furukawa comments points to the medium term.

Taking his words literally about ‘timing’, it would be unwise to release these updates at all if the next game was immediately around the corner. Between that timing and the existing line-up of games scheduled for 2026 already, the next game surely won’t arrive this year.

However, it would make just as little sense to release the Version 3.0 update too far away from a new game’s launch, as the intended effect of maintaining engagement will eventually fade again if too much time passes before the next Animal Crossing game.

Furukawa mentioned another game, Splatoon 3, in his remarks that we can potentially look to as an example. Last year, Splatoon 3 received a free Ver. 10 update for Nintendo Switch 2 that improved resolution and frame rate, plus added new weapons for all players.

That update released in June 2025, while the upcoming new Splatoon Raiders game on Nintendo Switch 2 is planned for launch sometime in 2026 — suggesting a gap of around 1 to 1.5 years between an update and a new game.

If we take January’s Version 3.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons on a similar timeline, perhaps we could expect to see the next Animal Crossing game release sometime in 2027? That feels like the most likely possibility at this point. We’re ultimately just speculating, but it’s worth thinking about.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below on when you think we might see the next Animal Crossing game for Nintendo Switch 2!

For more on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, check out our articles and guides below:

Animal Crossing: New Horizons News Version 3.0 Update

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