We can look back to Nintendo’s release schedule for the franchise for guidance. The first Animal Crossing was released in 2001, followed up by Animal Crossing: Wild World in 2005 — a five year gap. Animal Crossing: City Folk came later, in 2008. After City Folk, Animal Crossing: New Leaf was released in 2012 — again, five years. New Leaf and New Horizons have the biggest gap of 8 years, from 2012 to 2020 when New Horizons was released. Notably, New Horizons debuted several years into the Nintendo Switch’s lifespan. It makes sense that timing between games would increase as technology becomes more complex and games become bigger, but I think it’s unlikely we’ll see a gap that big between New Horizons and whatever is next.
Nintendo has its Switch 2 presentation set for April 2, and early Animal Crossing fans are hoping there’s a mention of Animal Crossing at the event. I would be surprised; the focus of the event is the console itself — and a new Animal Crossing game would likely overshadow so much of it all. If anything, maybe a small teaser with Tom Nook wondering about his next business venture.
