For more than a year, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a way to relax, connect with others, and flex creativity. Whether building an elaborate town or hunting through Mystery Islands in search of the perfect villager, there are many ways to enjoy the game. But in 2021, new Animal Crossing content updates could be crucial to keeping players interested.
Animal Crossing runs in real time and offers a limited number of tasks to be completed each day. These change depending on the season and which events are coming up on the calendar. Every day, though, there are fish to catch, beaches to comb, and fruit trees to shake. Still, for those who have been playing New Horizons for a long time, it's likely to have already completed the collections, achievements, and upgrades available, outside of standard daily chores.
While restarting an Animal Crossing island is one way to make the game feel fresh, many players would likely prefer a round of updated content to boost their existing towns instead. Currently, Animal Crossing relies on seasonal events to keep players engaged. This was exciting during the game's first year, when every event was new and mysterious, but with many events now coming up a second time, things can start to feel boring and frustrating.
New Content Updates That Could Keep Animal Crossing Fresh
One way New Horizons could expand gameplay is adding further upgrades to Nook's Cranny, Able Sisters, and the Museum. Larger stores could sell more items, and new exhibits could be added to a bigger Museum. It might also be fun to see further upgrades added to player homes, expanding item storage, creating new rooms, or even introducing entirely separate buildings, like a garage, to decorate.
It might also be interesting to add more farming options to Animal Crossing. During 2020's fall update, players gained the ability to farm pumpkins. The mechanic is basic, only requiring players to water plants daily, but many who enjoy other farming games like Stardew Valley were excited about the potential of agriculture in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Despite the positive reception from fans, more fruits and veggies have yet to be added. Hopefully, more substantial content updates are in the simulation game's future, providing new objectives for fans to complete.