Animal Crossing: New Horizonsbrought the series to the Nintendo Switch and enjoyed explosive popularity at launch. The newest entry added a lot to the series, allowing players to customize the layout of an entire deserted island as well as introducing crafting for the first time in the series.Animal Crossing: New Horizonsalso retained what made fans love the series in the first, place, letting players talk with villagers, collect fossils, go fishing, and repeatedly customize their character and homes. The game even allows players to visit one another’s islands, which helped boost its popularity as many players picked the game up while quarantining at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.
However, one of the biggest additions brought toAnimal CrossinginNew Horizonswas post-launch updates that allowed Nintendo to keep adding to the game and developing it. While many fans think thatNintendo has not done enough withAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, the developers have released numerous updates for the game. The updates brought a wide variety of additions, from entirely new features to returning characters and themed items. Since Nintendo confirmed that there are more updates planned for the game this year, now is a great time to look back at all of what has been added toAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsso far.
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Bunny Day Update
The first update forAnimal Crossing: New Horizonswas released on June 20, 2025, a day before the game was officially released. The update was relatively small, but it did add the Spring Bunny Day event, hosted by the Zipper T. Bunny character. The event saw players collecting a variety of dyed eggs by performing different actions in the game, which could be used to craft a variety of limited-time items that were also themed around Bunny Day. The event received a lukewarm reception, leadingNintendo to update Bunny Day inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsfor 2021 with some fine-tuned adjustments.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Earth Day Update
The next update came on July 14, 2025, in the form of the Earth Day Update. This update added a lot toAnimal Crossing New Horizons. The new traveling merchant Leif was introduced as well as new bushes that players could purchase from him. The Earth Day Update also saw the return of Redd, a suspicious art merchant that sometimes sells players counterfeit merchandise or even art pieces that willhauntAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsplayers. Real versions of the art pieces can be placed in the art wing of the museum which was also added in the update.
The Earth Day Update also introduced a number of new events to the game. Most of them were smaller events like Nature Day, May Day, and International Museum Day. However, it also added Wedding Season, which added a number of newwedding-themed items toAnimal Crossing: New Horizons. It also allowed players to set up complicated photoshoots for anniversary photos and saw series characters Reese and Cyrus making their first appearance in the game.
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Summer Update
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Summer Update was released in two waves, with the first wave launching on July 3. The first wave added the first major new mechanic toAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsthat allowed players to dive underwater to catch deep-sea creatures. The new feature expanded the number of fish that players could catch and donate to the museum while also introducing a variety of pirate and mermaid-themed items for players to collect and craft. The added items opened up a lot of creative options for players, one of which even made apirate-themed mini-golf course inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons.
The second wave of the Summer Update was released on July 30. The update added a number of new items that were part of its new Fireworks Show seasonal event. The items included a variety of different fireworks, balloons, and other celebratory items for players to throw better parties with. The second wave of the update also added the new dreaming feature. Dreaming allows players to visit the islands of other players that opt-in to the feature while they aren’t playing. The mechanic proved to be a great way for players to see more of the game andexplore otherAnimal Crossing: New Horizonplayers' islandswithout having to know them.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Fall Update
The Fall Update was released on September 30 and focused on the new Halloween event. The event included a new character named Jack that hosted it and could only be played on October 31. The update included a new candy item that could be purchased from Nook’s Cranny for players to give to their villagers as well as allowing players to grow pumpkins for use in crafting recipes. The event also allowed players to unlock Halloween-themed items, purchase costumes, and paint the faces of their characters, while also decorating some stores with Halloween decor. The festivities were made all the better by players sharing their design codes forcustom-made Halloween apparel inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Winter Update
The Winter Update focused on two events, Turkey Day and Toy Day. Turkey Day featured a number of craftable items that could be used by players to make an entire Turkey Day-themed room. Toy Day, however, added a number of toy items for players to either purchase at Nook’s Cranny or earn through the event’s host, Jingle. The update also added some quality of life features, like allowing players to increase the size of their home storage, more items for smaller events centered around Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl, new hairstyles, and save data transfer. However, the Winter Update didimpedeAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsplayers who use time travel, which some players were quite frustrated with.
Super Mario 35th Anniversary Event
The most recent update released forAnimal Crossing New Horizonswas theSuper Mario35th Anniversary Event released on Jul 27, 2025. The event included a number of themed items like character costumes, iconic blocks and coins from the series, and warp pipes that allowed players to travel across their islands quickly.Animal Crossing: New Horizons' warp pipeswere a bit hit, but many found the update lacking in content to keep them coming back for very long. Hopefully,Animal Crossing: New Horizons' upcoming updates will have more for players to sink their teeth into.
