Since its release this past spring, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has maintained a steady stream of event content and new things for players to do. Despite this however, many have completed the primary core of the game when it comes to shop and home renovations. Once players have completed the to-do list that Tom Nook has available, they are left rearranging their island's decor with increasingly limited space while they wait for Animal Crossing's next seasonal event, which is why it might be time for an update that adds late-game expansions to shops and homes.
Players have already seen that developers are noticing the lacking room, as Animal Crossing's winter update added a storage space upgrade to the game. This is a much needed addition, as the constant stream of new bugs, fish, furniture and other collectables are starting to stack up in the player's home inventory. The 50% increase to New Horizons' home storage changes the original 1,600 slot limit to 2,400, for a hefty cost of 500,000 Bells to Tom Nook.
Currently, with the exception of the storage space addition, there haven't been any changes made to the original dimensions of the shops and player's home. Animal Crossing updates have focused on inclusive content and interesting events instead. While these focuses are wonderful and should continue to be expanded on, it would be interesting to see something like a shed or maybe another building added if the player's home isn't going to see any more additions through Tom Nook's generous mortgages.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Hasn't Updated Shop and Home Sizes
Currently, New Horizons' home and shop dimensions remain the same as when Animal Crossing first released. Here is a list of the current layout sizes and prices for upgrades.
- Player's First Home - By unlocking the 5,000 Nook Miles task, players get a six-by-six home to decorate and expand for 98,000 Bells. This basic home gives players 80 storage slots.
- Second Home Upgrade - After paying off the first loan, players can ask Tom Nook to upgrade. This upgrade expands the floorplan to eight-by-eight and offers 120 slots of storage space. This upgrade will cost players 198,000 Bells.
- Back Room Upgrade - After paying off the 198,000 Bell loan, players can choose to add a back room to their home. This is an additional six-by-six room and brings max storage to 240 slots. It will cost players 348,000 Bells.
- Left Room Upgrade - This adds a second six-by-six room and is available after the player again pays off their loan. This upgrades max storage to 360 slots and will cost the player 548,000 Bells.
- Right Room Upgrade - This is the final six-by-six room upgrade, upgrading max storage to 400 slots total. This room will cost players 758,000 Bells.
- Second Floor Upgrade - This is a much bigger space. It gives the player a ten-by-ten upstairs space and expands storage to 800 slots. This upgrade will cost players 1,248,000 Bells.
- Basement Upgrade - Like the last upgrade, it gives the player another ten-by-ten space in the basement of their house. This upgrade also offers a storage upgrade of 1600 max slots until players finish the new storage expansion for a final max of 2400 slots. This upgrade will cost players a hefty 2,498,000 Bells.
- Nook's Cranny - Seven-by-four from the outside.
- Museum - Seven-by-four from the outside.
- Camp Site - Four-by five long.
- Able And Sisters - Five-by-five from the outside.
- Villager Homes - Four-by-five from the outside.
Size upgrades through Tom Nook would be especially nice for shops like Able and Sisters and Nook's Cranny in late game. Upgrading could allow more items to be available to purchase, or, like the second floor upgrade to a player house, allow for customization of the storefront. It might also be interesting to see stalls added in shops for characters like Saharah to appear in, perhaps showing up in the stores with more wares available than when they are wandering the island. Animal Crossing islands aren't very big, so space and how players use it is a critical part of town organization.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has continued to add fantastic new content for players to enjoy, so adding more space would allow fans to show off more of the decorations they have spent so much time collecting, and perfect their dream layouts.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available on Nintendo Switch.