ACNH Spin-Off or New Game - What's Next for Animal Crossing
It seems that Nintendo is going to release something new in the near future, what and when is the next update for Animal Crossing? ACNH spin-off or a new game, which will come first?
ACNH Spin-Off or New Game?
Getting a spin-off is probably much more realistic than a new Mainline game on Switch, at least at this stage. Most franchises tend to drop DLC and spin-offs in between Mainline releases, so seeing an Animal Crossing spin-off would not be that unrealistic of a possibility. The Animal Crossing community is expecting some kind of mini-game or spin-off from Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the near future. Those who have been following Animal Crossing prior to the release of New Horizons will be aware that there have been a number of spin-offs released in the intervening years between Mainline games. These spin-offs include Happy Home Designer, amiibo Festival, and Pocket Camp. Therefore, it would make more sense to release a new spin-off game rather than a whole new primary game.
What and When is Next for Animal Crossing?
The ACNH spin-off would appear at the end of 2023 or somewhere in 2024, the traditional period Nintendo would think about freshening anything for Animal Crossing and releasing a new game, some downloadable content, or a spin-off, simply to remind us that the series is still around and that they haven't forgotten about it. However, there is a possibility that Nintendo may consider doing something earlier than that. Therefore, on the assumption that a spin-off based on Animal Crossing: New Horizons will most likely be developed, what comes next, and what would its gameplay be like? It's pretty hard to say, but based just on the regular input Nintendo receives, it's probable that they'll want to capitalize on those 42 million sails that already exist and offer something that answers that feedback. And what's the most popular feedback? Mini-games all the lack of them. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a massive game. It features thousands of ACNH items, almost limitless island designs and layouts, and something new to do or change every day. However, the one thing that players appear to be missing and would love to see added is more options for multiplayer. The most common of these would be some kind of minigames that can be played with friends or random people online.
The most widely held hypothesis on what comes next for Animal Crossing is that it will be a spin-off of Animal Crossing: New Horizons that does not necessarily relate to New Horizons but does enable us to play as our character online with friends in some type of mini-game that takes place outside of the New Horizons Islands. It is easy to see tournaments, contests, and other events of this nature taking place at real-world events and other such conventions if Animal Crossing were to go in this route in the time between Mainline games. This would be an excellent path for Animal Crossing to explore. They are converting a good number of the mini-games from New Leaf, or at least the mechanics, and utilizing the HD models and textures from New Horizons, which would be very awesome if they did it. When one considers the amount of time and attention that was put into New Horizons, it is very certain that they will recycle the project's assets for whatever comes after it.
