This guy really put much efforts into making an interesting analysis as to when we should expect the next mainline entry of our favorite franchise. I usually don’t like clickbait videos that are based on speculation, but this is too notch arguments right there. He also took footage from that Animal Crossing Direct we got before the launch of NH in 2020 and it made my smile. I had butterflies for NH in early 2020 and it made me nostalgic for that moment.
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Analysis : when should we expect Animal Crossing 6?
- Thread starter Boccages
- Start date
This guy really put much efforts into making an interesting analysis as to when we should expect the next mainline entry of our favorite franchise. I usually don’t like clickbait videos that are based on speculation, but this is too notch arguments right there. He also took footage from that Animal Crossing Direct we got before the launch of NH in 2020 and it made my smile. I had butterflies for NH in early 2020 and it made me nostalgic for that moment.
Whenever it does come out, I sure am not getting it day-one, I learned that lesson with New Horizons! 
I was so hyped, I went to my local retailer to pick up my preordered copy at opening hour, only to learn that preorders cannot be picked up until like, 2-3 hours later. I said forget that, so I bought a copy there, cancelled my preorder and as the rest of us early players learned, the game was, in a sense, incomplete. 
I didn't like the drip-feeding updates and in retrospect, I would have preferred my first New Horizons experience to have happened after all the major updates were released.
Whenever the next Animal Crossing does come out, I'm not buying it until a year later! Not taking chances anymore.
I was so hyped, I went to my local retailer to pick up my preordered copy at opening hour, only to learn that preorders cannot be picked up until like, 2-3 hours later. I said forget that, so I bought a copy there, cancelled my preorder and as the rest of us early players learned, the game was, in a sense, incomplete. I didn't like the drip-feeding updates and in retrospect, I would have preferred my first New Horizons experience to have happened after all the major updates were released.Whenever the next Animal Crossing does come out, I'm not buying it until a year later! Not taking chances anymore.
I will get that game day 1. New Horizons was complete enough when it released so we all enjoyed it. And updates came in so quickly afterwards that it kept the experience fun, and novel enough for 2-3 years.
But let’s not hijack this conversation with a different topic. Let’s keep it to what this video is all about : speculations about the release of AC6
But let’s not hijack this conversation with a different topic. Let’s keep it to what this video is all about : speculations about the release of AC6
As much as it pains me to agree with Protendo, a man who at one time seemed to exclusively make "this is why NL is perfect and NH is the worst thing ever" videos, right at the time when it was getting on my wick the most, and often about the stupidest things possible (the 6/7am music! Just because the 7am music is the 6am music with another instrument on top of it! Despite the fact that the NL 6/7am tracks are some of the worst tracks in NL/the worst 6-7am tracks!)... yeah, this is for the most part a pretty decent analysis.
couple of things, tho: AC GC released in America in 2002, but it released in Australia in 2003 and Europe in 2004 (a luxury the series would never have again, given a year later the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was launched and Animal Crossing games started having to be released at nearly the same time worldwide), and he seems to have done some actual research about the AC/Splatoon crossover but doesn't seem to realise there's crossover with... basically every other EPD-developed Nintendo game (he uses footage of TOTK and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which both have more staff crossover than AC and Splatoon ever have... but it doesn't help that MobyGames has also started charging to see the staff crossover on more than 5 games)
But yeah, the next AC is probably getting announced this year, and released next year. Not entirely sure about next autumn myself, still very much anchoring myself to next spring personally (although given both NH and Splatoon 3 had an 18 month announcement-release window, I may be wrong)
couple of things, tho: AC GC released in America in 2002, but it released in Australia in 2003 and Europe in 2004 (a luxury the series would never have again, given a year later the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was launched and Animal Crossing games started having to be released at nearly the same time worldwide), and he seems to have done some actual research about the AC/Splatoon crossover but doesn't seem to realise there's crossover with... basically every other EPD-developed Nintendo game (he uses footage of TOTK and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which both have more staff crossover than AC and Splatoon ever have... but it doesn't help that MobyGames has also started charging to see the staff crossover on more than 5 games)
But yeah, the next AC is probably getting announced this year, and released next year. Not entirely sure about next autumn myself, still very much anchoring myself to next spring personally (although given both NH and Splatoon 3 had an 18 month announcement-release window, I may be wrong)
i definitely don't see nintendo releasing a new animal crossing game in 2025 and i'm not very confident in the year after either. at the absolute earliest i'd say... late 2026? considering the huge gap between new leaf and new horizons i would say that's reasonable, and nh hasn't even been out for a full four years yet. then again, i'm used to my favorite series having excruciatingly long waits between releases and i'm not crazy for a new game yet.
QueenCobra
Gutted, rotted, Gila monster, BEAST!
I’m going to go out on a limb and say 2028. I think we will get another game at the end of the decade, but before that, Nintendo will wait until we’re extra-excited for a sequel— considering New Horizons came out at the beginning of the decade.
tsukune_713
Senior Member
honestly it shouldnt have the issues that new horizons had with the wii u and such which most likely the main cause for the 8 year wait between games, so id say it mostly depends on when switch 2 comes out. if this year id imagine it would be spring next year or early summer, but id say its probably spring 2026
With the Switch 2 launching now in March 2025, I could see Animal Crossing 6 following in 2026.
ShinyDungeoneer
Egg Maestro
I say announcement this year, release in Summer 2026. AC is the type of game for summer, right?
If the Switch successor comes out this year, I'd expect it in 2025 with a possible announcement later this year. If the Switch really has been delayed to 2025, then I expect it to come in 2026, with a possible announcement in 2025.
The average has always been 3-5 years between main-line games getting at least an announcement (from release to trailer of the next game), excluding New Horizons since the Wii U was a failure. Though if you include Pocket Camp, it technically falls into that timeframe since it was announced 5 years after New leaf came out (though didn't release for another year).
The average has always been 3-5 years between main-line games getting at least an announcement (from release to trailer of the next game), excluding New Horizons since the Wii U was a failure. Though if you include Pocket Camp, it technically falls into that timeframe since it was announced 5 years after New leaf came out (though didn't release for another year).
If the Switch 2’s now happening next March then tbh, I still think it’s happening next year at some point… because Nintendo EPD5 (ie. Hisashi Nogami-produced games) haven’t really skipped a year in a decade at this point. Having 2025 go by without even so much as an update feels weird, tbh.
Generally also think that they’ve also got a very good opportunity to release the next 3D Mario game in September/October 2025 to coincide with the 40th anniversary (like they did with Super Mario Maker in 2015), so there’s got to be a big hitter in the first few months of the successor and I doubt it’s gonna be Zelda or Splatoon, so in all likelihood… yeah, still think there’s a new AC game next year.
Unless they decide to throw out a real curveball in the second half of this year, like “HD remake of the GameCube game”
Generally also think that they’ve also got a very good opportunity to release the next 3D Mario game in September/October 2025 to coincide with the 40th anniversary (like they did with Super Mario Maker in 2015), so there’s got to be a big hitter in the first few months of the successor and I doubt it’s gonna be Zelda or Splatoon, so in all likelihood… yeah, still think there’s a new AC game next year.
Unless they decide to throw out a real curveball in the second half of this year, like “HD remake of the GameCube game”
Alolan_Apples
“Assorted” Collector
Unless if Animal Crossing 6 is the launch title of the next console or if Nintendo decides on a second Animal Crossing game on the Switch (which would break the tradition), I don’t think it would come out any earlier than 2026 or 2027, depending on when the Switch 2 comes out.
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