Could Animal Crossing Be Headed to Space?

The Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0 Update has been out for some time now. After Nintendo revealed that it would be the last major update coming to the game, I had mixed feelings, but something came to mind that hasn’t left my brain since then. If this is the curtain call for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, where do we go from here?

Well, the answer is a little complicated. Based on the franchise’s history, I’m somewhat confident that the next Animal Crossing game is already at least in the conceptual stages. The game is one of the highest-selling Switch games of all time, not to mention the highest-selling game in the franchise to date. Say what you want about the pandemic helping the game’s sales, while that may be true, I think without the pandemic it still would have been a huge success.

With that in mind, of course, Nintendo is working on a new entry, right? This brings us back to my initial question of where we could be going in relation to where the franchise is now. We’ve been a villager, a citizen, a mayor, an islander, and we’ve decorated homes and vacation homes. What is left? Well, I think we might be going to space.

Think about it, is it all that strange to consider that Tom Nook might set his sights beyond the stars? Super Mario Galaxy took a fan-favorite franchise into space, now we’re just waiting for the Galactic Federation of Hyrule so that we can get a team-up game with Link and Samus. Okay, I’m kidding for that last part, but you get my point, right?

Nintendo has a history of success with space in their IPs. Star Fox, Metroid, Super Mario Galaxy, even the new Mario + Rabbids game coming out is headed to space. With that in mind, the Animal Crossing franchise has a pretty close relationship with space as it stands now anyway. At a certain time of night, you can see aliens on any TV you own, though I won’t spoil the full details, google “Animal Crossing Aliens TV” and it’ll get you the info you need.

Gulliver also has a history of being a spacefaring seagull, evidenced by comments he makes in New Horizons, as well as various references made throughout the history of the franchise. If that isn’t enough to convince you though, think about the gameplay possibilities.

We’ve already been given Terraforming mechanics with Animal Crossing: New Horizons. How much of a stretch would it be to return the game to a place that gives you a spherical playing field (like the original camera view) and let you build/manage your own planet? You could visit other people’s planets, maybe visit a space station with vendors, or have Nook, Blathers, and other special characters help you colonize your new planet.

It would be a great way for the developers to build upon what they’ve already made enjoyable with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but perhaps tap into more of the franchise’s potential. No longer supporting New Horizons with big updates doesn’t make much sense thanks to the game’s potential for growth as a live service. Nintendo could have opted into doing more paid DLC and would make a killing since fans still have dozens of suggestions for expansion and mechanic additions.

However, I have to wonder if the reason they’ve cut the updates and support beyond minor additions, is because they’re already hard at work. Perhaps we’ll hear about Animal Crossing: New Frontier in the future? Even if we don’t, I think Animal Crossing in space would be pretty amazing.