Nintendo released Animal Crossing: New Horizons back 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 new New Horizons content.
Although Nintendo is ending DLC support for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, support continues to roll out for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp which was released even longer ago in 2017. Animal Crossing: New Horizons received support for a total of 595 days, while Pocket Camp is at 1,528 days of support. The final big update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released on November 5, giving fans of the game more DIY recipes to create new furniture with.
Reception and Revenue for Animal Crossing
Nintendo released the Happy Home Paradise expansion for Animal Crossing: New Horizons just last year, making it the sole expansion for the popular Animal Crossing title. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold over 34 million copies to become one of the most successful Nintendo Switch titles behind only Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which 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 Horizons was released with the promise of content updates bringing much more to the game as the calendar unfolded. Nintendo added several things to Animal Crossing: New Horizons through 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 the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Museum Cafe and purchase shrubs for their island as a result of them being added.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp received a large update as recently as today and there's no sign of the mobile game support ending any time soon. Unlike New Horizons and its one additional expansion, Pocket Camp features microtransactions like Fortune Cookies and Leaf Tickets. The mobile Animal Crossing title also includes various memberships like The Happy Helper Plan and The Cookie and Depot Plan that cost a monthly subscription fee like Nintendo Switch Online, which is one of the few ways Nintendo would continue making money off New Horizons if it never added new content to the game again.
It's currently unclear why Nintendo has decided to stop support for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but some fans are speculating it's because Pocket Camp is so much more profitable. It's also notable that Apple and Google receive 30% of the revenue from Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp transactions. However, Pocket Camp's reception isn't nearly as shining as New Horizons', and many fans have grown weary of how much the mobile title has begged for players to spend money. Due to New Horizons' significant sales success in becoming the highest-selling Animal Crossing title to date, fans may see more of the franchise in the future.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.