In the September 2021 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced a separate presentation for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Brewster was confirmed for a November update, but Nintendo promised that more new content would make an appearance as well. We'll be sure to update this space as more information gets announced.
Free update
The free update is scheduled to release on November 5, 2021. This will be the last major free update coming to Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The Roost
Multiple players can visit The Roost, a café run by Brewster in the museum's basement. NPCs will come visit the café during their downtime, ever so often. Players can also call characters like NPCs using amiibo cards and figures and invite them to the café, where they may even bring a friend.
Kapp'ns Boat Tours
Kapp'n is a kappa who loves touring islands. Players can pay 1,000 Nook Miles to go on tours with Kapp'n to exclusive islands that only he knows about! Visit islands with mysterious new plants, or even encounter an island during a different season or time of day!
Harv's Island Plaza
Harv's island is expanding to include new NPCs with their own services on a special plaza. Harriet, Katrina, Kicks, Saharah, and Redd will all be making an appearance on the island which you can help expand by making contributions to Lloid. Reese and Cyrus from Re-Tail can help you customize furniture that normally can't be customized on your own, as well. Katrina's fortune shop can tell your fortune. Who knows what fate lies in store for you?
Group Stretching
Want to stay fit? It's always good to do so with a buddy! Players can do group stretching at the town plaza with everyone on your island. Just interact with the tape deck at the Town Hall to call everyone over! You can use button controls or your Joy-Cons' motion controls to perform the stretching actions.
Enact ordinances
If you wished your island were a bit different, you can now enact ordinances! Island Representatives have the power to make shops open at different times and give the island a new lease on life. Choose from the following ordinances:
- Beautiful Island — Make weeds appear less frequently
- Early Bird — Make shops open and close earlier, and make villagers wake up earlier
- Night Owl — Make shops open and close later, and make villagers go to sleep later
- Bell Boom — Make items worth more bells, though they'll also be more expensive
Upgraded home services
Tom Nook's got more options for those who want to customize their home's exterior! Choose from different house styles and a wider variety of roof, wall, door, and mailbox options.
More storage, bridges, and inclines!
Storage has been increased to 5,000, allowing you to hoard all the new items coming in this update! The max number of bridges and inclines you can have on your island increases from eight to a grand total of 10.
New Nook Mile rewards
Some new licenses can be redeemed with Nook Miles:
- Pro Decorating License
- Custom Fencing in a Flash
- New Reactions Notebook
- Pro Construction License
Cooking
Players can now cultivate more crops to make some hearty dishes using instructions from DIY recipes. Wheat, tomatoes, sugar cane, carrots and potatoes will be available for you to make tasty food to display! Eating food also gives you energy to smash rocks and dig up entire trees.
New license freedoms Ceiling decor & accent walls
The Pro Decorating License allows you to hang items from the ceiling now. You can use patterns to customize walls and flooring in your house, even adding accent walls for some personality. Navigating tight spaces is now much easier as well! Players can even permanently place ladders on ledges outside.
The Pro Construction License allows you to construct up to 10 bridges and inclines, up from the previous eight. Custom Fencing in a Flash lets you customize fences and explore and craft nine new fencing options:
- Block fencing
- Frozen fencing
- Park fencing
- Corrugated iron fencing
- Large Lattice fencing
- Log-wall fencing
- Bamboo slats fencing
- Green bamboo fencing
- Log fencing
Pro Camera App
With the new Pro Camera App, you can now take the camera and bring it down to eye level. You can even take pictures in this new perspective, by using the Tripod Camera mode!
More options with custom designs
You can now wear custom designs that were previously locked to customizing furniture. These designs can also be used as flooring, wallpaper, and accent walls as well.
Express yourself with hairstyles and reactions
Eleven new hairstyles are coming to the game, including the ones from Harriet, who will be found in Harv's Island Plaza! Make your character look even more like yourself, or dress them up as other people with these increased customization options.
Eleven new reactions are coming via the update as well, such as:
- Waving goodbye
- Stretch
- Jammin'
- Listening ears
- Say cheese
Island Life 101
The new NookPhone app, called Island Life 101, gives you tips on how to make the most of your island life. Newcomers to the game will be able to ease into island living without any hassle.
New items with Nook Miles
New items are coming to your NookStop app and to Nook's stores, to make your island even more colorful! New ceiling fixtures can be bought from Nook's Cranny as well.
A new storage shed can be placed outside, which connects directly to your home's storage space. That way, you don't have to keep running back to your home to clean up when your pockets are full. A new ABD furniture items also lets you access the bells in your bank account without having to run to the Town Hall all the time.
Jam together with K.K.
K.K. Slider's music gets a whole new sound with new songs like:
- Chillwave
- K.K. Bashment
- K.K. Break
- K.K. Chrinjo
- K.K. Dub
- K.K. Fuge
- K.K. Lovers
- K.K. Hip-hop
- K.K. Polka
A new furniture item, the music box, can be placed in your home. You can listen to K.K.'s new beats this way, too!
Gyroids!
Players can dig up gyroid fragments, plant them, and water them to make new little musical friends. You can even customize the little guys! Gyroid fragments can be found more often after it rains.
Movin' up with ladders
Players can craft a wooden ladder set-up kit to place permanent ladders on cliffs around their island. This should make traversing your island landscapes even easier, and help friends who visit your island in their dreams. The DIY recipe can be purchased at Nook's Cranny, and ladders can be customized.
Lemme squeeeeze on by...
Tight spaces in your home? Now you'll be able to squeeze through them and interact with furniture like couches! If you're like me and have a packed home, this will make getting around much easier.
More villager interactions
Villagers can now invite you to come over to their house after you become good friends. While you're bustling about in your own home, they may even pay a visit!
New faces
Huh? It looks like new villagers are making their way into the game! We can't wait to see what kind of friends we can make while out and about on mystery islands.
Happy Home Paradise
Some paid DLC called Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise is coming. Much like Happy Home Designer on the Nintendo 3DS, players will be able to customize and create houses for villagers on a brand-new archipelago of islands. These techniques can then be applied in your own home.
As a new Resort Developer, you can work with Lottie from Nook's Homes to help villagers get the vacation home of their dreams. Choose an island in the Resort Archipelago and decorate the interior and exterior of the home according to your client's tastes.
Completing more requests leads to more options, such as walls and pillars. New furniture is unlocked over time, and you can even unlock soundscapes to make your client's home even more immersive. Polishing furniture can make items gleam and cause new effects to be added to furniture, as well.
Source: iMore
If you decide to remodel a villager's vacation home, they can even share it with a second villager! Even NPC characters can be invited via amiibo cards and figures.
You can earn Poki currency while working as a Resort Developer, which allows you to purchase rare furniture that can't be found anywhere else. Add some new flair to your home!
Source: iMore
Larger homes like schools, restaurants, and hotels can be built as well, just like in the Nintendo 3DS spinoff game. Make your island unique and worth visiting!
Your creations can be placed in the Paradise Planning Portfolio, which is uploaded to the Happy Home Network, where you can follow creators for inspiration. The Happy Home Network can be accessed via the app on your NookPhone. Convenient!
If you bring souveniers to your villagers back on your own island, you may convince them to get their own home on the archipelago as well! You'll even be able to remodel your villagers' homes once you've remodeled a specific number of homes for others.
Happy Home Paradise comes to Nintendo eShop on November 5, 2021 for $24.99 USD. Pre-orders start on the Nintendo Switch eShop on October 29, 2021.
Nintendo Switch Online
Nintendo Switch Online members who purchase the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack can also get Happy Home Paradise for free. The Expansion Pack releases on October 25, 2021.
amiibo cards
Series 5 of the Animal Crossing amiibo cards come to retail stores on November 5, 2021. They include NPCs and villagers who haven't had amiibos yet, as well as brand new ones!
Just chillaxing in paradise
Embark on a new journey with Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Move in on a deserted island, make friends with the locals, and decorate your entire town! Curate your experience and live the way YOU want.
