Animal Crossing: New Horizons players have been working to create their ideal islands not just in landscape but taking account of those who live there as well. Nintendo is aware of players who are buying and selling their Animal Crossing villagers to others and is going to crack down on players peddling in black markets centered around the game.
Players of Animal Crossing: New Horizons care a great deal about the villagers living on their islands. Some players prefer to let villagers migrate to their islands, but others want to share their space with specific residents. While some of these Animal Crossing villagers are cheap, players are still willing to spend a lot of money — sometimes real legal currency — to bring their favorite animals to their islands.
While players want certain villagers to live on their islands, they may not want to take the time or effort to actually recruit these villagers. Due to this, websites have been created to essentially buy and sell villagers. These websites can use Nook Miles, bells, and real currency.
With the high demand for certain popular characters, these websites — called "The Black Market" by fans — took off. However, Nintendo is becoming more aware of the websites and these online black markets of Animal Crossing villagers, and the company's crackdown on this type of trading may change these website's popularity going forward.
A Japanese news site called J-Cast reached out to Nintendo about these websites and was told by the gaming company that these Animal Crossing villager black markets go against Nintendo's terms and conditions. Popular Animal Crossing villagers like Raymond can be exchanged for a lot of money, and J-Cast showed Nintendo examples of a sheep villager named Dom that was being sold for around $46 USD. A spokesperson for Nintendo said that if players continue to participate in game-related trades involving actual money, they will be penalized. J-Cast revealed that Nintendo may be seeking action asking a player selling Dom in Japan, but the game company has not made it clear whether or not this same action will be extended overseas as well.
Though Nintendo has not released a public statement on their response to the Animal Crossing black markets, players who are currently involved in these trades should be careful until the company speaks out about what they'll do going forward.
Source: J-Cast