After its last big update in 2021, the world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been relatively quiet, although the launch of the Switch 2 spurred rumors that a Switch 2 edition of ACNH might be on the way. Now, Nintendo has officially revealed the Switch 2 upgrade, but has surprisingly announced a massive new 3.0 update for New Horizons as well.
That’s right — not only will Animal Crossing get a Switch 2 upgrade version, but a free 3.0 update will be made available to all players. A trailer debuted on Nintendo Of America’s YouTube channel. Considering the last ACNH update was four years ago, it’s quite a nice surprise.
What New Content Is Coming In ACNH 3.0 Update
More Than A Simple Update To A Popular Game
The trailer reveals the kind of new content players can expect when Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ 3.0 update arrives. Many new crossover items are coming, including those for The Legend of Zelda and LEGO, and villagers are back with expanded roles relating to a new hotel and Dream World. The decoration for the new hotel seems similar to the Happy Home DLC that released in November 2021.
Naturally, the new hotel also brings many new items with it, so there’s plenty to look forward to — even if you don’t care about the Zelda, LEGO, or Splatoon crossovers. And, possibly most importantly of all, the 3.0 update will be free to anyone who already owns Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 Release Date
A Switch 2 Edition Is Great, But 3.0 Update Sounds Better
The 3.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons arrives January 15, 2026. That makes it a little more than two months away at the time of this writing. And for fans that have been keeping count, that means 3.0 arrives just over 50 months since ACNH‘s last big update.
The Switch 2 Edition of New Horizons sounds great, but given how many upgraded games Nintendo has offered since its new console released, it’s not all that surprising that Animal Crossing would get one, especially considering how popular the game is. The free 3.0 update, however, is a really nice surprise, and it should get plenty of fans back into playing the game. Thankfully, the wait for the new Animal Crossing: New Horizons update isn’t a long one.