As the most recent entry in the series, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is still very popular. Statistics on the game's popularity seem to be supported by recent data regarding its revenue per minute. So, just how much are players spending on the latest Animal Crossing game?
Unlike other recent Nintendo games with microtransactions, New Horizons lacks other forms of monetization, unless one counts the use of Nintendo's online service to play with friends. All of the game's updates thus far have been free. That said, rumors have circulated that a paid DLC could be coming to New Horizons eventually. This seems especially likely if the rumored island expansions, which were revealed earlier this year thanks to an alleged leak, end up coming to the game after all.
For the time being, though, there's been no word on if and when these island expansions or other major features could actually be introduced to New Horizons. The last few major updates have been relatively lackluster, especially 2021's summer update, which unlike last year added no significant features and merely re-introduced August's Fireworks Show alongside a few new items. That said, Nintendo has promised that new content will be coming to Animal Crossing in the near future.
What Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Success Means For Nintendo
Until paid expansion passes are introduced, though, it means New Horizons' revenue comes largely from players spending money on actual copies of the game. In data analyzed by NetBet, it was revealed that Animal Crossing: New Horizons' makes approximately $1,244.29 per minute, based on the game's revenue from 2020. This can perhaps be attributed to the game's large success rate as well as the consistent content updates that Nintendo has been providing. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was one of the most important games of 2020, as well as one of the most discussed on Twitter according to last year's data, which seems to indicate that it made a large impact on the gaming community as a whole and still has a relatively active player base.
What does this success mean for the future of the series, though? For the time being, it seems unlikely that a new Animal Crossing game will be introduced any time soon, as New Horizons will need continual support given the online nature of its holidays and other events. There's likewise been no talk of a sequel coming out yet, so fans of the game can rest assured that it doesn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon. In fact, it's probable given Nintendo's announcements that significant new content is already in the pipeline for Animal Crossing: New Horizons.