Animal Crossing: New Horizons has quickly become a cultural phenomenon that has impacted the world in a multitude of ways. Given the level of creativity and versatility of the game itself, there's next to nothing that can't be accomplished within the world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. To the point where that level of creativity and influence within the world has even helped a criminal investigation.
The game sports a large variety of game mechanics to help players build and customize their island, as well as interact with players all over the world (even Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood visited a random player's island in-game). The game allows players from all over the world to interact with one another, which for one Switch user, ended up being more useful than they initially realized.
A Taiwanese man left his Switch on top of an ATM while he was withdrawing some cash. A civilian later found the Switch and handed it over to the Taipei Police. Since there was no way to identify who the Nintendo Switch belonged to, the police were stumped in terms of how to get the Switch back to its rightful owner until a clever member of the force thought to use Animal Crossing as a way of tracking down the owner.
Using the letter and gift sending system implemented within Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the police were able to send a message to one of the Switch user's friends saying that the police had found his Switch and are ready to give it back to him. That is truly impressive police work on their part.
The friend later told the owner of the Switch, who then quickly rushed to the police station to retrieve it. This whole story goes to show how much of an impact Animal Crossing: New Horizons has had on the world. Of course, this is only one sample of evidence for this, as Animal Crossing players have also their custom clothing to a digital museum organized by the Museum of English Rural Life for no reason but good will.
It's been nearly four months since Animal Crossing: New Horizons first released, and in spite of the impact of COVID-19, the game has managed to bring people together in the most unexpected of ways. Whether that's bonding over anime openings recreated in-game or using the game as a way of returning a lost Nintendo Switch, this game has affected the world in numerous ways.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.