Animal Crossing: New Horizons received its final major update last year, and while Nintendo’s decision to end support for the game was initially met with some backlash, it seems that another update wasn’t necessary after all. The game’s peak popularity has certainly waned since its first incredibly successful months, but ACNH’s gameplay continues to sustain itself without relying on consistent novelty. As each season comes and goes in real time, ACNH stands as a completed game that doesn’t require a regular update schedule to feel fresh and enjoyable on its own.
Prior to the 2.0 update last October, Animal Crossing had received updates fairly regularly since release. Each update introduced new items for major holidays, special events, and promotions, and the constant addition of new content gave players plenty of reasons to keep coming back to the game. As of the final free update and DLC, ACNH lost the promise of novelty, causing many to believe that its players would lose interest and doom the game to an early grave after its incredible initial success.
However, Animal Crossing’s 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise DLC introduced tons of new content and features, many of which extended the game’s longevity despite the lack of future updates. Rather than continuing to offer new seasonal items and limited-time events released with regular external updates, ACNH’s last major update provided a significant amount of new gameplay mechanics, adventuring locations, and quality-of-life improvements that made the game as a whole feel more complete. Now, one year later, it seems that Nintendo’s decision to set the game up to stand on its own without continuous support was all ACNH really needed to stay afloat.
ACNH’s Last Major Update Was More Than Enough
Animal Crossing’s 2.0 update expanded the game with new mechanics like cooking and gyroid hunting, giving players new ways to customize their islands to enjoy these new features. Mystery Island Tours, Harv’s Market, and the Paradise Planning Archipelago also add more than enough internal novelty to the game since these dynamic locations change with each visit. The 2.0 update and DLC added enough new items and mechanics to keep the game fresh moving forward, and long-term goals like completing ACNH’s Museum offer plenty of reasons for players to continue enjoying their islands month after month.
Thanks to Animal Crossing’s real-time mechanics, constant novelty isn’t required to keep its gameplay fun and engaging. Rather than consistently adding items to collect and tasks to complete within a limited timeframe to maintain player engagement from month to month, ACNH offers players a space to build, design, earn Bells, and play at their own pace each day. Combined with the content expansion of the 2.0 update, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has more than enough substance to sustain itself without a future full of major updates.