Animal Crossing: New Horizons Updates for November, December 2020

It is wild to think that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been out for 8 months, and Nintendo just keeps pumping out healthy updates to keep the game relevant and fun. Albeit, some of these updates should have been in the game in the first place, but that is an argument for another day.

The free winter update goes live on November 19th and will include lots of fun things to do over the next couple months, including festivities for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

Winter Update Details

Bundle up, it’s sweater weather! Colder weather may be arriving, but luckily, it’s also ushering in warm holiday cheer in the Animal Crossing: New Horizons game for the Nintendo Switch system. Alongside the auburn-colored maple leaves that are beginning to drift down from the trees, islands located in the Northern Hemisphere will be visited by tranquil blankets of snow. Plus, on Nov. 19, a free update will arrive for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, introducing holiday events and enhancements, giving you opportunities to connect with friends and family and enjoy island life together with your Animal Crossing: New Horizons residents.

If you’re looking to spend quality holiday time with friends and family virtually, special occasions such as Turkey Day on Nov. 26 and Toy Day on Dec. 24 will be added with the new update, delivering holiday events that can be experienced with others. It’s a great time of year to welcome visitors over and show off your island while enjoying each other’s company. The winter update also brings new Reactions and hairstyles to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, an upgrade option for expanded in-game home item storage, and save data transfer capabilities.

“We’d like to invite everyone to experience the holidays together with family and friends in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, along with your island residents bringing their unique seasonal cheer,” said Nick Chavez, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We’re eager for everyone to discover all the changes arriving to your islands during this holiday season.”

The following features can all be enjoyed regardless of which hemisphere your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island is located in, beginning Nov. 19:

• Turkey Day – On Turkey Day, which will take place this year on Nov. 26, the first-class chef Franklin will arrive and host a gathering in the plaza. You can help Franklin collect ingredients to go in the dishes that will be on display in the plaza. You can even receive a gift from Franklin as a thank you for helping him cook.
• Toy Day – It’s the time of the year when island residents rejoice … The month of Toy Day is nearly at hand! You might notice your island and plaza gradually becoming more festive with holiday-themed decorations over the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for decorated trees, too. Shaking these may drop ornaments which will allow you to craft holiday furniture recipes. From Dec. 1 to Dec. 25, you’ll be able to purchase toys from Nook’s Cranny and find holiday-themed clothing at the Able Sisters shop. When it’s officially Toy Day on Dec. 24, Jingle will pay a special visit to your island to spread holiday cheer. If you help him deliver presents, you’ll also receive a gift!
• Reactions and Hairstyles – Nine new Reactions will be available with this update, which can be obtained by redeeming Nook Miles at the Nook Stop terminal located in Resident Services. Six new hairstyle options can also be acquired by redeeming Nook Miles, so get ready to express yourself and let your personality shine!
• Home Storage Upgrade – If you’ve expanded your in-game home to its largest size and paid off your debt, you’ll now be able to apply for a home storage expansion by speaking to Tom Nook at Resident Services. Congrats on achieving the next level of home ownership. This will expand your home storage to 2400 slots. Think of all the items you can now store and access from the comfort of your island home!
• Visit Random Islands in Dreams – Have you enjoyed dozing off and visiting other islands within dreams? Now you’ll be able to choose to visit random islands while dreaming, opening up new vistas of inspiration for your own island customizations.
• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Collaboration – To commemorate Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp’s third anniversary, a Pocket Camp smartphone model will become available in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. To receive this smartphone model, you’ll need to link both the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp app and Animal Crossing: New Horizons to your Nintendo account. For more information, please visit https://ac-pocketcamp.com/en-US/horizons.
• Island and Resident Data Transfers – Two new features are arriving to offer expanded flexibility for your island and resident data. The whole island transfer feature will enable you to move your user save data, along with the island itself and all the residents, to another system. This service will be facilitated by the free Island Transfer Tool app in Nintendo eShop. For players who are not the island’s Resident Representative, a single-player transfer feature allows you to transfer resident data to another system. This includes your resident’s name, appearance and equipment, along with your inventory, home and storage. Additional details about the benefits and limitations of these new data transfer services can be found at https://animal-crossing.com/new-horizons/#transfer.
• Seasonal Items to Celebrate New Year’s Eve – New seasonal items will be available starting Dec. 1 at Nook Stop. Between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31, there will also be several festive items to commemorate New Year’s Eve. In addition to the update content, you can look forward to a countdown event starting at 7 p.m. on Dec. 31. With Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you can meet in-game to ring in the new year with friends, family and your island residents!

Island Transfer Details

Entire Island Transfer

Use this feature if you wish to transfer the entire island and all residents to a new Nintendo Switch system. The island, all progress and customizations, your animal neighbors, the island resident representative, and any other residents that have been created on the island will be transferred.

This feature is helpful if you are replacing your Nintendo Switch system with a new one and all players who have played Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be using the new Nintendo Switch system. It is also the only way to transfer your island resident representative when you have not backed up your island.

You must have access to both the original system and the new system to use this feature.

Resident Move (Single Player Transfer)

Use this feature if you wish to transfer just one resident to a new Nintendo Switch system. The resident, the resident’s home, and most items held by the resident and kept in storage will be transferred to an island on the new Nintendo Switch system. The island resident representative cannot be transferred.

This feature is helpful when just one player wants to continue playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons on a new Nintendo Switch or when multiple residents other than the island resident representative will be using the new Nintendo Switch. The transferred player(s) will move to a new island if there is no existing save data on the new system. If there is already an island populated on the new system, the resident(s) will move to that island. All island progress and animal neighbors will remain on the original Nintendo Switch system.

You must have access to both the original system and the new system to use this feature.

It looks like Nintendo has been listening to fans and are finally offering services to help players enjoy the game even more. Look forward to the new update when it goes live on November 19th!

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Thank you for stopping by Nintendo Link for all of your Animal Crossing: New Horizons news, updates, and details. What did you think of this big Winter update announcement? Are you excited for anything in particular? Let us know in the comments below! Happy gaming, everyone.