Nintendo recently showcased an Animal Crossing: New Horizons Direct livestream displaying the many features coming to the game in the new 2.0 update, including a new crew of villagers and NPCs to fill players’ islands. New villagers have been a frequent request from ACNH fans, as the many players have likely already located their favorite collection of villagers from the existing roster. Additionally, extended periods without new vendors or events have left rotating vendors and shop owners dull and uninteresting. Thankfully, Animal Crossing’s upcoming November update promises a solution to these issues.
Longtime fans of the Animal Crossing franchise may recognize some of the new cast of Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ latest update. Several characters aren’t fresh new creations from Nintendo’s designers and instead revive NPCs lost between the games. It isn’t unusual for Animal Crossing games to abandon certain villagers as the franchise progresses. Still, their return holds promise for the future of ACNH and the revival of other beloved features.
Details concerning the role of various NPCs have not yet been confirmed for Animal Crossing: New Horizons' latest update. Many utilities of familiar features (such as the Dreaming mechanic) have changed to adapt to Nintendo Switch systems. Whether these characters will operate the same way or hold the same level of importance is unknown, though it won’t be long until players find out for themselves. Most of ACNH’s new characters are available as part of the free update, though some are exclusive to the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise DLC.
New Villager To Animal Crossing: Sasha
Sasha is one of Nintendo’s brand new villagers coming to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Her neon blue bunny design paired with adorable eyes matches the theme of Bunny Villagers, though her sense of style and personality is sure to set her apart. Bunny Villagers have adapted a wide variety of interior designs, outfits, and themes. For example, Mira, the superhero and comic nerd Bunny, is far different than Chrissy’s polka dot obsession. With luck, Sasha can bring another unique style to the roster.
New Villager To Animal Crossing: Ione
Marshall has long ruled the Squirrel Villagers as the most popular species in Animal Crossing, but Ione could threaten that dominance. Their gender is unrevealed, though their professional attire suggests they could mirror the designs of ‘professionals’ like Raymond. Ione’s personality and interior decoration are sure to play a role in their popularity, as is their wardrobe.
New Villager To Animal Crossing: Tiansheng
Nintendo finally brought a new addition to Animal Crossing’s Monkey Villager selection with Tiansheng. So far in ACNH, monkeys have been notoriously unpopular. Many Monkey Villagers, for instance, fail to reach A-Tier in Animal Crossing popularity tier lists.
Thankfully, Tiansheng may be the key to breaking this trend. Their gender is currently unknown, as is their personality. Their design features stylish face paint and a golden circlet resting on their head.
New Villager To Animal Crossing: Shino
Shino joins Tiansheng to craft another uniquely designed Animal Crossing villager. Their white fur and red horns depict a devilish design to accompany their coy expression. They appear to be wearing a kimono and also sport stylish eyeliner. Both Tiansheng and Shino likely mirror Kabuki’s traditional Japanese styles and bring more diversity to Animal Crossing’s roster.
New Villager To Animal Crossing: Marlo
Marlo appears to continue the Mouse Villager curse, featuring a Godfather-esque design and emitting a rather creepy vibe. His suit and mustache combined with his superior expression suggest he may conflict with kinder characters and possibly look down on player characters. Hopefully, Marlo’s first impressions give way to a more thoughtful, grandfather-like character when he arrives in New Horizons.
New Villager To Animal Crossing: Petri
Mouse Villagers often receive the short end of the stick in Animal Crossing, but Petri could change that. Her name (and outfit) suggest a mad scientist theme for her character, with giant glasses and a lab coat sporting her small frame.
Her unique colored ears match DC’s Harley Quinn character, suggesting Petri could be a bit eccentric. With luck, she’ll be able to break the curse of Mouse Villagers being so unpopular in New Horizons.
New Villager To Animal Crossing: Cephalobot
Cephalobot is perhaps the most unique new Villager joining Animal Crossing’s current roster, furthering the Octopus species’ popularity. While characters like Marina already enjoyed significant attention from the fandom, they may experience some competition with Cephalobot. This Villager’s body comprises metal plating and screws, with two beaming electrical bulbs functioning as its eyes. Like its fellow new Villagers, Cephalobot’s personality is unknown, but it’s likely to have a mechanically themed house, which could be an exciting addition to player islands.
New Villager To Animal Crossing: Quinn
Animal Crossing’s Eagle Villagers are known for their sleek designs and bold personalities, despite their appearance varying from a dominant color scheme. Quinn continues the adaptation of a bald eagle’s coloration but features more toned-down shades of blue feathers. His enunciated eyebrows and black jacket craft a slick yet pompous design that promises some exciting conversations with player characters.
New Villager to ACNH: Chabwick
Chabwick has not appeared in any English version of Animal Crossing but in the Japanese-only Dōbutsu no Mori e+, as an exclusive e-Reader character. This Penguin Villager previously had a Lazy Animal Crossing personality type. It’s currently unknown if Chabwick maintains that personality, though players are likely excited for another Penguin Villager to join the roster.
New Villager to ACNH: Zoe
Zoe appeared in the Animal Crossing GameCube edition, as well as Dōbutsu no Mori e+. However, she hasn’t appeared in Animal Crossing games since. Her Normal personality and teal design make her a strange choice to return to the franchise, but her return is a promising sign for other villagers to also be revived.
Her haunting pink eyes and flat design may result in Zoe’s failure to make Anteater Villagers any more popular in ACNH than they already are. However, it's great to see villagers from past Animal Crossing games appear in New Horizons.
New Villager to ACNH: Rio
Rio is a veteran of the Animal Crossing series, first appearing in the original Animal Crossing GameCube game, Dōbutsu no Mori, Dōbutsu no Mori+, and Dōbutsu no Mori e+. In all her appearances, Rio has been a Peppy Animal Crossing Villager. Her colorful, exotic design makes this Ostrich Villager one of the most exciting new additions to Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
New Villager to ACNH: Frett
Frett is a Dog Villager once called Champagne, previously featured in Dōbutsu no Mori e+. This Dog Villager has a bit of a Dad-like design and two eyes set too far apart. In previous games, he had a Cranky personality type. It’s unknown if Frett’s interior design will carry over from past games.
New Villager to ACNH: Azalea
Azalea’s design is slightly reminiscent of Meringue, with her white markings appearing to mimic frosting along with her neon blue color palette. Azalea was also called Petunia in her Dōbutsu no Mori e+, the last time she appeared in the franchise. Previous appearances gave Azalea the Snooty personality type, though this could change in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
New Villager to ACNH: Roswell
Roswell also appeared in Dōbutsu no Mori e+ and was an exclusive e-Reader character under the name Pironkon. His sandy color palette and strange eyes make his design unique but not appealing. In previous titles, Roswell was a Lazy Villager. While some ACNH fans may find his strange markings and patterns charming, others likely won’t be willing to give up the limited slots on their islands for him.
New Villager to ACNH: Faith
Faith is the final new Villager to Animal Crossing: New Horizons and appeared twice before in the Animal Crossing GameCube game and Dōbutsu no Mori e+. Faith was a Normal Animal Crossing Villager in both games and one of the cuter Koala Villagers.
Her innocent eyes and flower petal accessory combined with rosy cheeks makes her far more approachable than other members of her species’ roster. While she may not top the charts as the most popular Villager in ACNH, she’ll likely be a welcome addition to any player that finds her.
New NPC to ACNH: Brewster
Fans have long been expecting Brewster’s arrival to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, though the lengthy wait left some worried Nintendo would never add him. Thankfully, Brewster and his famous cafe are set to return to Animal Crossing in November. This location is open 24/7 and serves as a hangout spot for island residents. Brewster will set up his cafe in the Museum, where the NPC can be found up the stairs behind Blathers.
New NPC to ACNH: Katrina
Katrina has appeared in every Animal Crossing game so far, acting as a fortune teller. While the GameCube version of Animal Crossing gave her a minor role, she could later give fortunes that would come true and provide fortune cookies to lucky players. She could also send players to the Star Matrix, but Nintendo failed to reveal the extent of her powers in New Horizons.
New NPC to ACNH: Kapp’n
As his name implies, Kapp’n has his own ship and can ferry players to different islands. Thankfully, Kapp’n isn’t a reskin of the Dodo Airlines NPCs (who maintain their position on the island and existing services) and instead takes players to Animal Crossing Mystery Islands located in different hemispheres with different plant life and biomes.
New NPC to ACNH: Harriet
Harriet is a pink poodle hairdresser that gives players new hairstyles, fulfilling another highly requested feature. Though New Horizons brought many new customization features than previous games, Animal Crossing hairstyles have always been severely lacking and restrictive. With Harriet’s return, players can now explore new fashions and put their Bells to good use.
New NPC to ACNH: Tortimer
Tortimer had an excellent run in Animal Crossing games, previously acting as the mayor of most towns until players took over that role in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Despite some fans worrying if Tortimer had finally met his end, Tortimer is returning to ACNH to assist with item storage. Storage is a significant problem for many players who have played since launch and can’t organize or store all their furniture, so it's great that this will be fixed in 2.0. These Villagers and NPCs are either joining Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Happy Home Paradise paid DLC or will be available in the free 2.0 update.