New Animal Crossing Game Could Be Announced Soon

Fans could get a look at the follow-up to Animal Crossing: New Horizons before long, according to a new rumor. Many had hoped that Nintendo would announce the next installment in its cozy life sim series upon revealing the Switch 2, but so far, it has yet to do so. With five years and counting since the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the wait may not last much longer, if one leaker is accurate.

A new Animal Crossing game would make sense as a way to drive more people to Nintendo’s latest console. As of late 2024, New Horizons is the second-best-selling Switch 1 game with over 46 million copies sold. Previous entries in the series have also come out within three to five years of each other, although there was a longer gap between New Leaf and New Horizons, so the timing lines up with past trends. While Nintendo remains quiet about the future of the franchise, rumor has it fans will get word of the next installment soon.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Gets New Update for June 2025

The popular social sim Animal Crossing: New Horizons gets a surprise update for June 2025, addressing some ongoing issues with the title.

On an episode of the Nontendo Podcast, YouTuber Wood Hawker claimed a Nintendo Direct is coming in July. Beyond that, the presentation may include the reveal of the next Animal Crossing game, which will reportedly have a 2026 release window. New Animal Crossing titles typically come out at least one year after a console launch, so that timeline would fall into the pattern Nintendo has already established. Still, Hawker says he can’t reveal how he knows this information, and that lack of clarity may cast some doubt over the validity of his claims.

Nintendo Could Reveal the Next Animal Crossing in a July 2025 Direct

Nintendo did just host a Direct centering around Donkey Kong Bananza, but that doesn’t necessarily mean another, more general presentation is out of the question. It’s worth noting that some think the original Animal Crossing is coming to the Switch 2 soon, too, through the console’s support for GameCube titles. If that’s true, it may make more sense for Nintendo to wait a little longer before announcing a new entry in the series. All of these are just rumors at the moment, though, so it’s hard to say for sure how things will pan out.

The rumored Direct will also supposedly feature some more big news for other long-standing Nintendo franchises. The long-awaited Metroid Prime 4 still only has a general 2025 release window, but Hawker claims it will get a specific date during the July Direct. With June coming to a close, fans won’t have to wait long to see whether these rumors are true.