Summary
Nintendo announced thatAnimal Crossing: Pocket Campis ending its online service. While this might sound like a death knell for the cozy mobile game, Nintendo announced in a unique decision that they are currentlydeveloping an offline versionofAnimal Crossing: Pocket Camp,which will allow players to transfer their save data and continue enjoying their campsite life. Support for the online game will end on November 28 at 3 PM UTC, with an offline version of the app replacing it soon after. That might just make the game better than before.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Campwas first released in 2017 and will now shut down soon after its seventh anniversary. In their announcement, Nintendo expressed its gratitude to the playerbase and confirmed that the game will continue to get updated until its closure. This announcement isfantastic news for players who are more interested in a classic single-player-focusedAnimal Crossingexperiencewithout micro transactions or gacha elements included.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Or New Horizons (All Differences Explained)
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has all the classic elements of the series, but presents a mobile game first, Animal Crossing game second.
No More Microtransactions
A Single One-Time Purchase For An Offline Game
More details about this new version ofPocket Campwill be revealed in October, but for now, the developers confirmed thatthe offline version ofAnimal Crossing: Pocket Campwill have noin-app purchases(such as Leaf Tickets), subscription services like Pocket Camp Club will no longer be available, and that players will no longer be able to visit other players’ campsites.
Though it is disappointing that players will no longer be able to enjoy seasonal events or unlock new content like furniture or clothing, it does shiftAnimal Crossing: Pocket Campto a potentially more relaxing experience for dedicated fans.
With theremoval of any microtransactions or the gacha aspects of the game,Pocket Campwill become more like other mainlineAnimal Crossinggames. Though Nintendo hasn’t released much information on what the future offline version ofPocket Campwill look like, hopefully, it will include a preprogrammed timeline of events for players to enjoy for the next few months or even the year.
Other Nintendo Mobile Games
Pocket Camp’s Closure Could Have A Silver Lining For Other Games
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp’s closure is only the latest in a string of closed games or games that no longer receive content by Nintendo in recent years.Mario Kart Tourstopped new content updates in 2023, while the RPG mobile gameDragalia Lostwas shut down in the latter part of 2022.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp’s closure is certainly sad for its fans, but it has received a much more considerate sunsetting than many other Nintendo mobile games and certainly more than mobile games by other developers, like withApex Legends Mobile’s sudden ending in 2023.
Nintendo could see the outpouring of support towardsPocket Campas proof thatmobile games can have a second life as offline one-time purchase apps. This is a small silver lining toAnimal Crossing: Pocket Camp’s ending, but it would be a huge win if other beloved Nintendo mobile games were granted an offline life after their online shutdown.
