Animal Crossing has just turned 25 years old, and to mark its quarter century Nintendo has released a fresh update for New Horizons which along with various fixes also adds a commemorative item.
I won’t spoil what the item is here, because where is the fun in that. Instead, I suggest you download and install the latest game update, and then check your island’s letter box. I am going to wait until my daughter gets home from school before I boot up our shared Animal Crossing: New Horizons island, though such are the perils of my job, I already know what we will find waiting for us.
In the meantime while you like me marvel at how darn quickly time seems to be passing these days – because how is Animal Crossing 25 years old?! – you can check out the latest patch notes for New Horizons below:
Latest update: Ver. 3.0.2 (Released April 13, 2026)
The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch:
General updates
- A commemorative item for the 25th anniversary of the Animal Crossing series has been added. Please check the in-game mailbox to receive it.
- Fixed an issue in hotel guest rooms where furniture placement or guest behavior could prevent exiting the room.
- Fixed an issue where crafting multiple items at once using a DIY recipe requiring six types of materials could sometimes be completed even without sufficient materials.
- Fixed an issue where a dung beetle appearing on a snowball could remain on-screen after the snowball disappeared.
- Fixed an issue where items could pop out of a rock before the shovel made contact when hitting it. This issue was addressed in Ver. 3.0.1, but could still occur under certain conditions, so it has been fixed again.
- Fixed an issue where bringing custom designs created by the player to a Slumber Island could prevent them from being displayed at Able Sisters or uploaded to the Custom Design Portal.
- Fixed an issue where glowing spots on the island would not appear lit when viewing the island from the plane while returning from another island.
- Fixed an issue where villagers who had promised to visit the player’s home could sometimes appear in unnatural locations inside the house.
- Other adjustments and corrections were made to improve the game play experience.
Changes to DLC
The following issues related to the paid DLC Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise have been fixed:
- Fixed an issue where animals requesting vacation homes would stop appearing on the beach even when some animals still do not have vacation homes.
Earlier this year, Nintendo released a big Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ 3.0 update, which added a new Resort Hotel down on the pier among other things.
Our Matt took the Switch 2 edition out for a spin, and while he wasn’t totally set on the megaphone you can supposedly call residents over with, he still enjoyed his return to Nintendo’s “lovely world”.
