As players work hard to build their village and create an island paradise in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, they may begin to notice villagers packing up and moving away. Like other games in the Animal Crossing canon, villagers may decide the time has come to move on. Unlike past Animal Crossing games, however, players cannot change this setting. However, they do have some control over which villagers decide to stay and which will move away.
Villagers tend to leave after they have lived in the player's village for a while, or due to feelings of neglect or resentment. Players' in-game actions can directly (or indirectly) influence a villager to move away. While players can converse with a villager to convince them to stay, there are far more options allowing the player to force a character out. For some players, forcing villagers to move allows them to rid their islands of characters they do not like or get along with and move a different character in. Here's why villagers may be leaving a player's island, what players can do to keep them in the village, and how players can manipulate the game to remove unwanted villagers.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Villagers Move Out Because It Is Time
Just as in real life, some Animal Crossing: New Horizons Villagers decide to move because they simply feel it is time to move on. Villagers moving can happen at random, often once a villager has been living on a player's island for a while. In these cases, players who do not want a villager to leave should converse with that villager and try to convince them to stay.
When villagers are thinking about moving, they will shuffle around the village and appear lost in thought. A white thought bubble will appear over their heads to prompt the player to interact with them. After a brief greeting, during which some villagers begin to cry, the villager who wants to move will confess their plans to the player. The player usually receives two response options. The first option asks the villager to stay, while the second option affirms it may be the villager's time to go.
Villagers will respond to either option based upon their personalities. Villagers with Smug or Sisterly personalities may become more aggressive in their resolve to leave if the player asks them to stay. Sometimes, when a player agrees with the villager and wishes them well on their move, they may change their mind and insist upon staying to grow closer to the player first.
After a player has 10 villagers on their island, inviting a new villager in requires another villager to move out. Players can use a character's amiibo card at the Nook Stop to bring a new villager onto the island, and the player gets to choose who must move away. The chosen villager always agrees to move without question. Alternatively, if a player goes to another island and invites a villager to move in, a random villager will be kicked out, and the player may not choose which one.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Villagers Move Out Because of Player Neglect
Sometimes, a player's in-game behavior influences villagers to leave the island. If a player fails to interact with a villager for too many days in a row or declines all of their requests, but still interacts with other villagers, the villager will feel shunned and likely decide to move away. Some players will do this purposefully to convince a villager to leave, but often it is inadvertent. Players should make a point to interact with every villager to keep them in the village as long as possible.
Rumors have cycled around the community regarding whether players can abuse a villager into leaving the island. This would include physical acts, such as yelling their name into a megaphone while right beside them or hitting them repeatedly with a net. Reportedly, these rumors have not been proven true. The villager will become angry at the player for repeated hits, however, and their friendship may decrease somewhat as a result of these actions.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Villagers Move Out Because of Player Time Traveling
Time traveling is a highly controversial practice in the Animal Crossing community, and while it can beat the real-time game mechanic, it can do quite a bit of harm on a player's island, including causing villagers to move away. Time travel is the process of turning off the game, going into a console's settings, and changing the date and time into the future.
While this speeds the process of creating new buildings or completing home renovations, Animal Crossing: New Horizons added time travel penalties to discourage the practice. Going a week into the future has the same effect on a player's game as not playing for a week. Players will find spoiled turnips and weeds growing on their island, but, more than that, they will find villagers have already moved away or plan to. To avoid villagers moving out, players should limit time traveling to a day or two into the future or avoid the practice entirely.
Moving In New Animal Crossing: New Horizons Villagers
If villagers have moved away, players can move in new characters to replace them. There are several ways to accomplish this. First, players can take Mystery Tours and meet villagers of other islands. They can invite these villagers to move to the player's home island. They can ask up to three new villagers at a time and will get to set up the initial plots of land for new villagers.
The other new way to introduce new villagers onto a player's home island is through the use of amiibo cards from past versions of the game, though these are difficult to find. Scanning the character amiibo card at the Nook Stop will allow a player to invite that character to settle on the island as a villager, forcing an established villager of the player's choice to move.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available on the Nintendo Switch.