Animal Crossing: New Horizonsbecame hugely popular when it was released during the 2020 pandemic. It had been eight years since the previous title was released, and while the basics of the game were there, a lot felt missing on release day. This wasn’t just a small issue; it made the game feel less polished and like players got it in pieces instead of a fully finished product.
Although the staggered release of the lastAnimal Crossinggame was somewhat accepted due to the unusual circumstances surrounding its launch, this shouldn’t be a model for future games. The global situation at the time covered what would normally have been strong criticism. The nextAnimal Crossinggame can’t depend on such lucky timing.It needs to be a fully finished and polished game from the startand bring back popular features missing fromNew Horizons.
Animal Crossing Should Be Complete When It Releases
It Needs To Be Ready At Launch
Animal Crossing: New Horizonswas a huge success, but that wasn’t entirely because of its content. Even though the game won over millions of players,it still felt like it was missing a lot at launch, which was disappointing. This wasn’t just about not having certain feature, but more about missing essential gameplay elements that players expected from the beginning. For example, Brewster’s café, a favorite part of the series, and the fun gyroids, key elements of theAnimal Crossingexperience, were added later in updates instead of being included at launch.
“RIP To My Villagers”: Animal Crossing New Horizons Player Creates A Villager Graveyard
One Animal Crossing New Horizons player didn’t want these villagers on their island but wanted to remember them, so they made a graveyard.
The way the game was released in stages changed the experience significantly.Players received a complete game in pieces over timeinstead of getting a complete game all at once. The pandemic made the game’s release feel more special, as many people turned toAnimal Crossingfor joy and escape during lockdown. However, this was a special case and can’t be replicated for future games to launch. Just because New Horizons came out at a tough time when so many fans wanted a new entry doesn’t mean it should be acceptable to have missing features in future releases.
The nextAnimal Crossinggame should offer a fully finished experience right from the start, showcasing all the charm and gameplay elements that fans are eager for. While it’s fine to roll out some minor updates or improvements later on, the main features that players expect should all be included at launch. This upcoming game needs to impress from day one, making it worth the price by providing a complete experience.
It’s clear that this kind of thing is a lot to ask for, and the nextAnimal Crossinggame may never beexactly what players want. However,it seems fair to expect a game that is complete upon releaseinstead of one that’s almost ready and gets updates over time. For what it was,New Horizonswas still polished on day one, but missing features are hard to ignore.
What The Next Animal Crossing Should Have At Launch
There’s A Lot An Animal Crossing Sequel Needs
Animal Crossing: New Horizonswas a huge hit, butvalid criticisms about how it launched with missing content shouldn’t be ignored, and the next game in the series needs to avoid making the same mistakes. In some cases, this means ensuring that important classic features missing at the launch ofNew Horizonsreturn, but a great release will also depend onadding new improvementsthat were lacking or not fully developed in New Horizons.
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It’s important to bring back some of the classic features that fans love.Not having familiar characters like Resetti or a proper post office was strange inNew Horizons. By reintroducing these favorites and fitting them into the new game’s mechanics, long-time players will be happier, and the overall experience will improve. Adding these missing elements from the start would make the game feel more complete and show that the new version respects theAnimal Crossingtradition.
Having every villager be extremely nice all the time also felt fake inNew Horizons. In terms of personality, they were often all too similar, and pastAnimal Crossinggames have featured morediverse personalities and dialogue.Villagers should feel like unique people, not like they just all want to be the player’s friend.
Expanded Features That The Future Of Animal Crossing Needs
Forward Progress Is Also Important
Crafting and managing items are two areas that also seriously need improvements. The current system, which only allows one item to be crafted at a time, is frustrating.It would be much better to have options for bulk crafting, better inventory management (like a shared storage system for the island), and clearer information on where items are located. Also, it should be standard to buy multiple items at shops instead of having to purchase them one by one. On top of that, improving multiplayer features needs to be a priority.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsreceived 27 updates, with the last one released August 12, 2025.
Visiting friends' islands was a fun part of the game, butthe lack of good co-op activities and complicated processes made the multiplayer experience less enjoyable. The next game should include minigames and more activities that players can work on together. It’s strange that this wasn’t a big focus for the game, especially when players couldn’t visit each other. It’s pretty standard to have multiple aspects in games like this.
New Horizons Was A Success, But That’s Not A Guarantee
The Next Game Has A Lot To Live Up To
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsbecame extremely popular after it was released in March 2020, right when many people were in lockdown due to the pandemic. This was also the first game since the acclaimed entryNew Leafwas released back in 2012, sohype from its fanbase had built up significantly.
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Getting rid of villagers in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is especially tricky. Here are some tips and tricks to get rid of those horrible villagers.
Whenever it releases, the nextAnimal Crossinggame needs to avoid making the same mistakes as before.The initial excitement during the release ofNew Horizonsisn’t easily replicable, and player expectations keep changing. If the game launches without key features that fans expect, it could disappoint a lot of players, especially those who were unsure about buying it in the first place thanks to the issues in the last game.
Animal Crossingwasone of the best selling Switch games, with 45.85 million units sold.
The nextAnimal Crossingshould be a complete and fun experience right from the start. Any issues at launch could hurt the game’s long-term success because some potential buyers will write the game off immediately. In other words, the success ofAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsshouldn’t make us ignore the valid points raised about its incomplete launch, and relying on the standard set by its meteoric launch shouldn’t be considered a formula for future success.
