Rumor has it thatAnimal Crossingcould be coming to the Switch 2 soon, but I’m taking it with a grain of salt. The Switch 2 has faced no end of criticism forits lackluster launch library. It launched with just two new first-party games: the overpricedMario Kart Worldand the incredibly shortNintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. Other than those, a group of Switch 2 upgrades for older games, and a collection of solid but outdated third-party releases, there’s really nothing to play on the console yet. At least,not until we getDonkey Kong Bananza.
So players have been left to fill in the gaps themselves, engaging in a bit of wishful thinking and trying to guess what could come next for the console.Hopes for a newXenoblade, 3DMario,Zelda, just about anything else abound - but there have been no official confirmations from Nintendo on what’s next for its big IPs. However, the latest rumor claims we could see a Nintendo Direct as early as next month, which, a fairly reliable leaker claims, will include a massiveAnimal Crossingreveal. There are plenty of reasons to believe it, but I’m still skeptical.
The Latest Animal Crossing Release Rumors, Explained
What To Expect & When To Expect It
According to Nintendo YouTuberBeatemups(also known as Wood Hawker), who recently appeared on theNontendo Podcastto discuss upcoming Nintendo news (spotted byaccount_for_gamingon Reddit),there’s a newAnimal Crossinggame due for release in 2026. Although he can’t identify his sources, he claims to know that there’ll be a Nintendo Direct next month (i.e., July 2025), which will end with anAnimal Crossingteaser in which Isabelle herself appears to announce the new game.
According to Hawker, also TBA at the supposed July Nintendo Direct are Switch 2 versions ofMetaphor: ReFantazio,The Witcher 3, andDeath Stranding,Pokémon Colosseumon NSO, and a release date forMetroid Prime 4.
Like all leakers,Hawker’s claims should be taken with a grain of salt- he admits himself during the podcast episode that he doesn’t know how much of this is true. He doesn’t have much history as a leaker, but at least one of the rumors he’s reported on in the past - the appearance of several new characters inSmash Ultimate- has come partially true.
That said,he sounds pretty certain in this regard, so it really comes down to the accuracy of his sources. And, without knowing who they are or why they’re revealing all this information, I reserve the right to remain a little unsure if I believe they’re correct.
How Likely Is A New Animal Crossing In 2026?
AC On Switch 2 Could Go Either Way
There are several reasons to believe thatAnimal Crossingmight be coming to the Switch 2 next year, and several reasons why it may not - it could really go either way. To argue in favor of these rumors being true, there’s the simple fact thatAnimal Crossingwill help sell the Switch 2.Animal Crossingis one of the most beloved Nintendo franchises, and it’s been a console seller before. Nintendo knows it needs more first-party games in order to sell the console, so it’s likely to rush a guaranteed top-seller likeAnimal Crossingout the door.
And,in terms of release timing, 2026 kind of makes sense. That’d mark six years sinceAnimal Crossing New Horizons' very timely 2020 release, which itself was released seven years afterNew Leafcame out in the West. That said, the time required for game development has only gone up in the past decade, so it’d be a little surprising to see a brand-newAnimal Crossingcome out with a smaller gap between it and the previous game than its predecessor.
Even so, I have my reasons to be skeptical. For one thing,this is the first leak we’ve heard about a newAnimal Crossinggame, and it comes from a YouTuber without a proven track record when it comes to these things. That’s not to say Hawker’s deliberately lying, but since we can’t know who his source is or how much he’s seen, we can’t know how accurate his reports are.
Plus, Nintendo already has a life sim planned for the Switch 2 -Tomodachi Life 2: Living the Dreamis due for release next year, and, with more town customization available, it appears to be going down a similar path to previousAnimal Crossinggames.I doubt Nintendo would release two life sim games in the same year, especially these two, which have so much in common. That would only result in a decrease in sales for both as their fan bases cannibalized one another - I have to admit, I’d probably chooseTomodachi Lifemyself.
Rumors of a newAnimal Crossinggame are a great way to get people to tune into your next show.
In addition,it seems odd that a newAnimal Crossingwouldn’t have already been announced.Nintendo had a massive Direct back in April, where it already revealed a pair of games due out for the console in 2026:The Duskbloodsand007 First Light- and several games that don’t even have release dates yet.
It seems strange that they wouldn’t includeAnimal Crossingin the mix there, butit’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility. Nintendo Directs have limited runtime, and rumors of a newAnimal Crossinggame are a great way to get people to tune into your next show, maintaining more interest in your brand over time than you would by simply dumping out every possible reveal during one massive showcase.
I Hope We Get Animal Crossing In 2026, But It Seems Unlikely
I Want To Believe
Taking off my skeptic hat and putting on myAnimal Crossingfan hat for a moment, I have to admit,I do want these rumors to be true. I’ve held off on getting a Switch 2 thus far until it gets some kind of must-play exclusive, which, for me, means I expected to be waiting until reviews forThe Duskbloodsare out. But if a newAnimal Crossingis announced earlier, that’ll easily get me to commit to buying a Switch 2 much earlier, even if I have to wait until next year. I suspect I’m not alone in that.
That said, I have to be realistic about it, and for the time being, the evidence is stacked against a newAnimal Crossingcoming out in 2026. It just seems way too soon, without any official word from Nintendo, even though its release window isn’t totally out of the realm of possibility. Couple that withTomodachi Lifecoming next year, and I’m not convinced that we’ll see a newAnimal Crossingnext year - but I hope Nintendo proves me wrong.
