Animal Crossing: New Horizons/Revisional Differences

This is a sub-page of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Dates are given in Japan Standard Time.

Version Letters

These characters appear after the version number displayed in-game (on the title screen) while a real-time-locked event is in progress; they therefore require the console's clock to be synced with Nintendo Network.

• Example: v1.0.0 a
• They are not technically part of the title version, so they won't be displayed in the Switch operating system (for instance, when pressing "Options" on the home screen) and do not have to be matched between players who want to connect together.
• These seem to stay on the screen after an event finishes and only go away once a new update gets released while there is no event active.

Base version	Letter	Event unlocked	Applicable dates (2020)
1.x.x ?	a	Bunny Day	April 1-12
1.2.0	b	International Museum Day	May 18-31
1.2.x ?	c	Wedding Season	June 1-30
1.6.0	a	Thanksgiving Season	November 26(?)-31
1.6.0	b	Christmas Season	December 1-23?
1.6.0	c	Christmas Season	December 24-(January 6)?

Version 1.0.0

Initial release. + (Cartridge Release)

• The cartridge includes Nintendo Switch FW v9.0.1.
  • The cartridge's flash chip is 8GB.

Version 1.1.0

Released alongside the game as a Day 1 Patch.

• Added new content in preperation for the Bunny Day event.
  • Zipper can now be invited to Photopia (the photo studio on Harv's Island) through amiibo.
• Enabled online connectivity features, including multiplayer, NookLink and the ability to send letters to other players.
• A free Nintendo Switch furniture item is given to the player in the mail after updating. The Switch item has neon blue and red Joy-Cons by default, but they can be changed to gray once furniture customization is unlocked.
  • Curiously, the game does not match the color of the Joy-Cons attached to the console for this item. The color is checked in order to determine if it is being played on a console with the Animal Crossing special edition Joy-Cons, in which case the player receives a replica of the special edition Switch in a separate letter.
• Item names were changed from all-lowercase names to have a capitalized first letter.
• Unspecified bug fixes.
• Several items were renamed:

Original Name	Updated Name
Arcade Platforming Game	Arcade Mahjong Game
Gold-Arowana Model	Golden Arowana Model
Ice-Queen Dress	Icy Dress
Jacob's Ladder Plant (PAL)	Lily-of-the-Valley Plant (PAL)
Black-Bass Model	Mounted Black Bass
Blue-Marlin Model	Mounted Blue Marlin
Wooden Washtub	Old-Fashioned Washtub
Cute Cosmos Wreath	Pretty Cosmos Wreath
Cute Tulip Wreath	Pretty Tulip Wreath
Sandbag	Punching Bag
Pink Wood Flooring	Sakura-Wood Flooring
Mermaid Dress	Shell Dress
Short Floral-Print Pants	Silk Floral-Print Pants
Green Cloud-Print Pants	Silk Pants
Food Jar	Soup Kettle
Log Doorplate	Timber Doorplate
Office Locker	Upright Locker

(Source: Nookipedia (name changes))

Version 1.1.1

Released on March 26th, 2020.

• Fixed a bug that allowed players to duplicate items while in same-system multiplayer modes. (Video demonstration)

Version 1.1.2

Released on April 2nd, 2020.

• Fixes the villager moving out bug which lets you return to the glitched spot with Tom Nook to take care of things.
• Fixed a bug where Tom Nook's request to the island representative to find a plot of land for new residents disappears.
• Fixed a bug that made it impossible to move facilities and the player's house after deleting a user from the game.
• Fixed a bug that subtracted both Bells and Nook Miles when purchasing an item from Wilbur during a Mystery Tour.
• Other unspecified bug fixes.

Version 1.1.3

Released on April 3rd, 2020.

• Fixed a bug where balloons would stop spawning if the player reached the final milestone in the "It's Raining Treasure!" goal.
  • For some reason, reaching the 300 balloon goal before the Bunny Day event started will still cause balloons to spawn on v1.1.2 during the event.

Version 1.1.4

Released on April 6th, 2020.

• Fixed an issue where Flick sends the wrong model after handing him three scarab beetles.
• The spawn rates of certain Bunny Day eggs have been reduced until the actual event starts on April 12th.

Version 1.2.0

Released on April 22nd, 2020.

• Two free items are mailed to the player after updating: a world map and a bell bag rug.
• The monthly savings interest rate was lowered from 0.5% to 0.05% (the latter of which had been standard in previous games).
• New Coral and Green variants of the Nook Inc. aloha shirt, based on the variants that Isabelle and the Nooklings respectively wear, can be ordered through the Nook Stop in Resident Services.
• Adds two new travelling merchants:
  • Leif appears outside Resident Services, sells bushes and flower seeds, and buys weeds for 20 Bells each.
  • Redd appears in a treasure trawler at the secret beach on the north side of the island and sells rare furniture as well as paintings and sculptures for the Museum.
• Adds the Museum's art gallery, which accepts paintings and sculptures. The first donation to the exhibit will leave the museum closed for all of the following day, after which the art gallery becomes accessible.
• Jock, lazy, smug, and cranky villagers can now occasionally mail the player artwork of variable legitimacy.
  • Jock and lazy villagers can mail paintings and sculptures, both real and fake.
  • Smug villagers can only mail forgeries.
  • Cranky villagers can mail sculptures, both real and fake.
• Adds four new calendar events, spanning late April through June:
  • The Nature Day event, lasting between April 23rd and May 4th.
  • A new May Day event, lasting between May 1st and May 7th; recurring character Rover is added as part of the event.
  • A new International Museum Day event, lasting between May 18th and May 31st.
  • A new Wedding Season event, lasting for the entire month of June, and two special characters, Reese and Cyrus.
• Leif, Redd, Rover, Cyrus, and Reese can now be invited to Photopia through amiibo.
• Rebalances spawn rates of certain bugs and fish.
• Rebalances weights for the random Nook Miles Ticket mystery islands.
  • Two types of mystery island, one containing a field of hybrid flowers and another containing both large fish and hybrid flowers, are removed from the game for reasons unknown, rendering them completely inaccessible.
• The game now checks the save for certain corrupted data, such as a house experiencing the "I've moved out!" bug, and fixes it, if the update is installed before the game is next played. Aforementioned bugged houses are replaced with empty plots.
• Various other unspecified fixes.
• A few more items were renamed:

Original Name	Updated Name
Explorer Tee	Explorer Shirt
Switch	Light Switch
Log Sofa	Log Chair
Raglan Tee	Raglan Shirt

(Source: Nookipedia (name changes))

Version 1.2.1

Released on May 21st, 2020.

• More item duplication glitches were fixed, which involved rotating 2x1 items on tables, and sending items in the mail to another resident on the island.
• Other unspecified fixes.

Version 1.3.0

Released on July 3, 2020.

• Adds the ability to swim and dive in the ocean with a wetsuit.
  • Adds the ability to purchase a Nook Inc.-branded wetsuit and snorkel through the Nook Miles Exchange system.
  • Adds sea creatures, which can be caught while swimming and donated to the museum, where they appear alongside donated fish in the aquarium. Sea creatures in the museum receive their own identifying plaques, independent of standard fish.
  • Adds the recurring character Pascal, who gives the player either pearls or DIY recipes for Mermaid Series furniture in exchange for caught scallops.
    • Due to a bug, the Mermaid Fence DIY recipe is never given out by Pascal, leaving it functionally unused; this glitch wouldn't be amended until the Version 1.7.0 update.
  • Adds the ability to collect pearls while diving, which like manila clams cannot be donated to the museum but can be used as crafting material, specifically for Mermaid Series furniture.
• Adds a new NPC, Gullivarr, a pirate-themed lookalike of Gulliver. Similarly to Gulliver, Gullivarr will ask that the player recover his communicator parts through diving (rather than digging them up on the beach as with Gulliver) and mails the player Pirate Series furniture in exchange (rather than furniture themed after international landmarks).
• Altered the names of various fish in the Korean and Mandarin versions of the game.
• Leif, Kicks, and Sahara are now no longer guaranteed to show up each week, resulting in any NPC being able to show up on any weekday. Consequently, the odds for a particular previously non-guaranteed NPC appearing on any particular week have been upped from 35% to approximately 47% (rounded to the nearest whole percent), disregarding the priority mechanic.
• Sahara's dialogue tree is altered to allow the player to continue conversing with and shopping from her after buying an item, without having to terminate and restart the conversation.
• Accidentally introduces a glitch where an invisible wall can appear on zen and red zen bridges on a third tier cliff, preventing players from crossing them from either end unless the bridge is demolished and rebuilt (fixed in version 1.3.1).
• Most (but not all) nameplates in the fish museum have been redesigned to appear more visible.
• Fixed a glitch (race condition) where, by moving the cursor on the NookPhone Camera app and operating the + and A buttons with the right timing, the HUD could be made to disappear while in regular movement mode.

(Source: Animal Crossing Life)

• Various other unspecified changes.
• A few more items were renamed:

Original Name	Updated Name
Writing Chair	Study Chair
Writing Desk	Study Desk
Writing Poster	Study Poster
Cake Dress	Wedding Dress

(Source: Nookipedia (name changes))

Version 1.3.1

Released on July 10, 2020.

• Fixed the glitch introduced in version 1.3.0 where an invisible wall could appear on zen or red zen bridges placed on top of a third-tier cliff.
• Fixed a glitch that prevented wetsuits from being sold at Nook's Cranny.
• Fixed a glitch that causes Hermit Crabs to spawn on terrain other than the beach.
• Fixed a glitch where a dialogue thought bubble would occasionally and erroneously appear after speaking with a villager.

Version 1.4.0

Released on July 30, 2020.

• Added Luna and the ability to travel to dream versions of people's villages.
• Added Firework displays every Sunday and the ability to customize fireworks.
• Added the ability to search for uploaded patterns by name, like "Star Wars" or "Ferrari".
• Added the ability to back up your island.
  • This is implemented as a "Spotpass" task while the game is not running, not as an ordinary save backup; the unmodified Switch OS remains incapable to date of backing up non-user-specific saves.
• Added the ability to hide the controls while in camera mode.
• The Polka-Dot Mini Skirt item was renamed to Polka-Dot Miniskirt.

Version 1.4.1

Released on August 6, 2020.

• Scans the town for, and removes, tree(s) with nonstandard items as "fruits" (ordinarily inaccessible without hacking).
• Fixed a bug where, if the player visited a Dream Town without having yet collected the daily money spot, the latter would turn into an ordinary buried bag of 1000 Bells.
• Fixed an issue where trees could mature and contain things other than the normal fruit, etc.
• Fixed an issue where the player swings their shovel through the air when attempting to hit a rock placed at a certain location.
• TBD

Version 1.5.0

Released on September 30, 2020.

• A new seasonal event, Halloween, has been added.
  • Throughout October, candy can be purchased from the store's shelves. Players are limited to buying only one piece of candy per day.
  • The "Haunt" and "Scare" reactions are added.
  • Six new Halloween-themed eye colors and four new skin colors are added, unlocked by purchasing the "Body-Paint Costume Tips" and "Exploring New Eye Colors" cards with Nook Miles. The player automatically learns the skin and eye colors and expends the cards upon each purchase, as with other upgrade cards.
  • Various Halloween-themed clothing and furniture items are added.
• Pumpkins (a new vegetable that can be grown on the ground, vaguely reminescent of red turnips in WW and CF, but available in multiple colors and infinitely renewable) and DIY projects that use pumpkins have been added. They can be found in balloons or supplied by villagers.
• Added new features for visiting dream islands with Luna: the ability to choose your destination from a list of previously visited dream islands and the ability to favorite previously visited dream islands.
• A free Ring-Con item is mailed to the player after updating.
• Scans the town for, and removes, various items ordinarily inaccessible without hacking (e.g., plaza benches, K.K's and Harv's gear, the Island Designer helmet)
  • Gift-wrapped flowers/bugs/fishes/seafood and other invalid items will turn into tree branches instead.
    • This addresses an ongoing griefing scheme where players could be gifted "-" wrapped items, which could only be disposed of by re-wrapping and abandoning them on a miles island.
• Scans the catalog for, and removes, posters that were not directly earned by the player by inviting the appropriate characters on Harv's island (therefore including those obtained from other players). Posters also can no longer be added to the catalog unless they are first obtained through Harv's island.
• The catalog can be filtered to only list re-purchasable items with the Y button.
  • Introduced a bug where, after viewing the description of a seasonal special item with X, the Y-button action to display countries and offer end time will cease to work until selecting a different tab of the catalog.
• Fixed a bug where pushing Gulliver or Gullivarrr off of the beach would result in them being unable to walk around on their own, instead standing in place until they are pushed back onto the beach; they now instead walk back to their original positions when pushed away.
• Introduced a bug where certain sentences would be displayed in English even in other languages.
• Various other unspecified changes are implemented to improve gameplay experience.

Version 1.5.1

Released on October 9, 2020.

• Fixed an issue where some title keywords obtained via Nook Miles would not appear within the Passport.
• Fixed an issue where certain messages would display in English for users playing in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, or Russian.
• Fixed an issue where animal residents would talk about pumpkins when given a bamboo shoot.
• Fixed an issue where it was no longer possible to jump over a river based on the location of certain furniture.

Version 1.6.0

Released on November 19, 2020.

• Two new seasonal events, Turkey Day and Toy Day, are added.
  • Various items themed around American Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's are added.
• Players can visit Resident Services to put in a request to increase the capacity of their home storage from 1,600 to 2,400 items for a 500,000 Bell fee (which must be paid up-front and in full), provided that they've fully upgraded their house and paid off all their debts.
• Luna can now offer random dream destinations by selecting a new option, labeled "Surprise me."
• Adds the Save Data Transfer feature, which allows island save data or a single player's save data to be transferred to another Nintendo Switch.
• Adds the following additional content:
  • Additional four seasonal items from Nook Shopping in December, two for each hemisphere.
  • Additional DIY recipes that use seasonal materials.
  • Additional Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp collaboration items.
• Adds nine new reactions: Sit Down, Wave Goodbye, Take a Picture, Sniff Sniff, Work Out, Yoga, Here You Go, Excited, and Ta-da, all of which are learned by redeeming Nook Miles.
• Adds six new hairstyles: cornrows, buzz cut, wool buns, afro, wool puff, and bald, all of which are obtained by redeeming Nook Miles.
• Adds the ability to view the catalog through the NookLink mobile app.
• Fixes a glitch that allows players to give items other items' textures.
• The Summer-Solstice Crown and Winter-Solstice Sweater items were renamed to Sunflower Crown and Midwinter Sweater, respectively.
• Various unspecified alterations.

Version 1.7.0

Released on January 28, 2021.

• A new seasonal event, Festivale, is added.
  • Various items themed around Mardi Gras/Carnival, Setsubun, Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, and the Super Bowl are added.
    • Festivale clothes are purchasable from Able Sisters and Festivale furniture items are purchasable from Nook's Cranny from February 1 to February 15.
    • The Bean-Tossing Kit is purchasable from Nook Shopping and the Ogre Costumes and Masks are purchasable from Able Sisters between January 28 and February 3.
    • The Resetti Model is purchasable from January 25 to February 2.
    • Super Bowl-themed items are purchasable from Nook Shopping between January 25 and February 15.
• Adds four new reactions: Feelin' It, Let's Go, Viva, and Confetti, all of which are learned by purchasing them from the cabinet in Nook's Cranny. The set for these reactions is purchasable between February 1 and February 15 and costs 19,800 Bells.
• A free pair of maracas is mailed to the player after updating.
• Fixes a bug that locked players out of obtaining the Mermaid Fence from Pascal; the recipe requires one pearl, five pieces of coral, and five sand dollars to craft.
• Various unspecified alterations.

Version 1.8.0

Released on February 25, 2021.

• A new seasonal event, Shamrock Day, is added, taking place across three separate occasions between March 10 and March 17.
  • A Shamrock Doorplate, Shamrock Rug, and Shamrock Soda are purchasable from Nook Shopping.
  • A Shamrock Hat, Shamrock Shoes, Shamrock Suit, and Shamrock Sunglasses are purchasable from Able Sisters. These are not time-locked and can be purchased at any time of year.
  • A DIY recipe for a Shamrock Wand can be obtained by popping balloons.
• Various Super Mario-themed clothing, furniture, and decorative items are purchasable from Nook Shopping from March 1 onwards, commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Japanese release of Super Mario Bros. (which in actuality took place in 2020). These items can be purchased indefinitely following their unlocking on March 1.
• Furniture items themed around Hinamatsuri and Pi Day are purchasable from Nook Shopping.
  • The Blossom Lantern and Hinaningyo are purchasable from February 25 to March 3, with the catalog rotating between the two each day during this period.
  • A π Pie is purchasable from March 1 to March 14.
• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp promotional items now appear in the Nook Shopping catalog.
• Fixes a bug where the in-game name of a player is displayed under their Nintendo Switch User Nickname when attempting to add a friend via "Search for Users You Played With".
• Various unspecified alterations.

Version 1.9.0

Released on March 18, 2021.

• Reintroduces the villager characters Chai, Chelsea, Étoile, Marty, Toby, and Rilla, who were previously exclusive to the Welcome amiibo update of Animal Crossing: New Leaf as well as Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp as part of a collaboration with Japanese media franchise Sanrio. These characters can only be invited onto a player's island through scanning their respective amiibo cards.
  • Sanrio-themed items that previously appeared in Welcome amiibo and Pocket Camp are reintroduced; they are only made available for purchase after scanning their respective Sanrio villagers' amiibo cards.
• Adds the ability to make patterns for umbrellas, uchiwa fans, flags, and standees, via an upgrade purchasable for 2000 Nook Miles. The upgrade goes into effect immediately upon purchase.
  • Purchasing the upgrade also adds 50 additional pattern slots for both standard and Pro custom designs.
• Adds the ability to purchase a NookPhone app that enables access to Able Sisters' Custom Designs Portal from any location, similarly to the unlockable Nook Shopping app; the Custom Designs Portal app is purchasable for 800 Nook Miles and is installed immediately upon purchase.
• Various holiday events are added and updated:
  • Bunny Day now occurs from March 28 to April 4, consequently shortening the event's length from twelve days to eight. The 2020 Bunny Day event is no longer functional as a result.
    • Bunny Day furniture items are now purchasable at Nook's Cranny during the event, including new furniture that can only be obtained through this method.
  • Nature Day now occurs between April 15 and April 22, this time as a Nook Shopping event: a Cool Globe furniture item is purchasable during this time. The full-fledged event of Nature Day 2020 is no longer functional as a result.
  • April Fool's Day is celebrated between March 26 and April 1, via a Whoopee Cushion furniture item purchasable from Nook Shopping.
  • Singmogil is celebrated between April 1 and April 10, via a Forsythia furniture item purchasable from Nook Shopping.
  • Prom, based upon traditional school proms, is celebrated throughout the month of April, via the Prom Sash clothing item, Prom Flooring, and Prom Wall, all purchasable from Nook Shopping, as well as with prom-themed clothing purchasable from Able Sisters. Like the Shamrock Day clothing items, prom clothing is not time-locked.
• The Happy Home Academy's themes for the Celebratory Candles, Fortune-Telling Set, and Wheelchair are altered.
• The Festivale Drum is recategorized as a miscellaneous furniture item rather than houseware.
• The Zen Series of furniture is renamed to the Imperial Series.
• The names of three Happy Home Academy themes are changed:
  • The Folk Art theme is renamed to the Heritage theme.
  • The Garage theme is renamed to the Workshop theme.
  • The Zen-Style theme is renamed to the Harmonious theme.
• Introduces a glitch where time traveling five or more days into the past always causes the game to reroll which NPCs appear in the target week, while keeping the present week's NPC pattern intact; in previous versions, this limit was only in place if one attempted to time travel back to an earlier month. Consequently, this reduces the amount of opportunities to reroll visiting vendors' stock through time traveling back to an earlier visit.
• Fixes a bug introduced in version 1.4.0 where the player could not remove a wand outfit if they swapped their wand for another item while their pockets are full.
• Fixes an bug introduced in version 1.7.0 involving construction kits where the player could dig holes in spots that normally cannot be dug in if they used the "Let me imagine it..." option and did not place down the plot.

Version 1.10.0

Nintendo valiantly continues their efforts to avoid counting to two with this next update, released on April 28, 2021, itself littered with a number of changes:

• May Day, International Museum Day, and Wedding Season 2021 are all enabled; the 2020 events are disabled.
  • A second maze island for May Day is accessible; this one is prioritized for players who already completed the 2020 event, while those who missed out see the original island prioritized. Completing the second island rewards the player with Rover's photo.
  • International Museum Day now features stamps and a plaque for the art exhibit.
  • The Shiromuku, Tsunokakushi, and White Hakama with Crest clothing items are all purchasable from Able Sisters during Wedding Season.
• Multiple new Nook Shopping events are added:
  • The Carp Banner furniture item and the Newsprint Helmet clothing item can be purchased in celebration of Children's Day (April 28 to May 5).
  • The Double Gloucester Cheese furniture item can be purchased to commemorate the Cheese Rolling Festival (May 22 to May 31).
  • The Nuptial Bell, Nuptial Doorplate, Nuptial Ring Pillow, and Flower-Petal Basket furniture items can be purchased during Wedding Season throughout the month of June.
  • The Surichwi Tteok and Festival Zongzi furniture items can be purchased in celebration of the Dano Festival and Dragon Boat Festival, respectively (both June 5 to June 14).
  • The Ship Wheel Door Decoration furniture item can be purchased in celebration of Marine Day (July 8 to July 22).
  • The Phrygian Cap clothing item can be purchased in celebration of Le 14 juliet (July 10 to July 20).
• In addition to the new Nook Shopping events, ones returning from 2020 are modified:
  • Mother's Day (May 1 to May 31) features the Carnations furniture item.
  • Father's Day (June 1 to June 30) features the Thank-You Dad Apron clothing item.
  • The Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice events now occur from June 15 to June 21 and from December 15 to December 21, respectively.
  • The Tanabata event now occurs from July 1 to July 7.
  • The Cowboy Festival event now occurs from July 15 to August 15.
• Dream Towns can now be exited by pressing the minus button.
• Fixes a glitch introduced in version 1.9.0 where traveling five or more days into the past rerolls the target week's NPCs every time.

Version 1.11.0

Released on July 29, 2021.

• Adds the Boba Coffee, Boba Green Tea, Boba Mango Tea, Boba Milk Tea, Boba Strawberry Tea, Melon Cotton Candy, Plain Cotton Candy, Ramune-Soda Cotton Candy, Strawberry Cotton Candy, Chocolate Frozen Treat, Orange Frozen Treat, and Ramune Soda Frozen Treat handheld food items, purchasable from Redd's booth during the Fireworks Show.
• Adds the Spooky Tree and Spooky Trick Lamp furniture items and the Spooky Treats Basket tool, purchasable from Nook's Cranny during October.
• New Nook Shopping events are added:
  • The Eggplant Decoration and Cucumber Horse furniture items can be purchased in celebration of Obon (August 10 to August 16).
  • The Songpyeon furniture item can be purchased in celebration of Chuseok (September 12 to September 21).
  • The Marigold Decoration furniture item can be purchased in celebration of Day of the Dead (October 25 to November 3).
  • The Handheld Lantern tool can be purchased in celebration of the Lantern Festival (November 1 to November 11). This item can be customized between six different variants.
  • The Chitose Ame item can be purchased in celebration of Shichi-Go-San (November 11 to November 20).
• The Moon Viewing Day Nook Shopping event now occurs from September 12 to September 21, concurrently with Chuseok; the Dango and Moon Cakes furniture items are added and can be purchased from Nook Shopping during this time.

Version 1.11.1

Released on August 10, 2021, this update fixes a number of glitches that were added in Version 1.11.0:

• A glitch where sorting DIY recipes by the order in which they were obtained causes them to be mis-organized.
• A glitch preventing items on Harv's Island from being properly displayed.
• A glitch where the "ten minutes until closing" song in Nook's Cranny doesn't play as scheduled.
• A glitch where clouds don't appear in the sky during certain seasons.

Version 2.0

At long last, Nintendo finally learns how to count to two with this update, released on November 4, 2021 (a day ahead of schedule). Proclaimed to be the "last major free content update," this revision is downright loaded with changes:

• The Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise expansion pack is added as paid DLC, acting as a sequel to Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. The mode can be accessed through the Airport in the base New Horizons game once installed and grants exclusive items. Four characters are exclusive to this mode, not counting amiibo usage:
  • Lottie, reintroduced as the head of Paradise Planning, the organisation for which the player can work in order to provide vacation homes for villagers and special NPCs.
  • Niko, a gray langur, is one of the two new characters. He takes the player to job sites and also provides the player with DIY recipes for pillars, full-height counters, and half-height counters every time the player leaves crafting materials in his storage box.
  • Wardell, a manatee, is the other of the two new characters. He is a quiet, reticent character who runs the gift shop and also teaches the player various soundscapes; ambient sound loops that can be played in the player's home, as well as any vacation homes they design, or any of their island's residents' houses they remodel.
  • DJ KK, K.K. Slider's alter-ego from New Leaf, returns and will perform his remixes on the northern beach of the archipelago's main island after thirty vacation homes and all facilities have been completed. He will then continue to occasionally host a music festival, beginning at 6pm on the first day and ending at around 12am on the second day. Since Happy Home Paradise lacks the alternate outfits that Happy Home Designer has, DJ KK is given a separate vacation home from K.K. Slider if his amiibo is scanned, rather than occupying the same house.

• Eight new villagers are introduced:
  • Sasha, a lazy rabbit.
  • Ione, a normal squirrel.
  • Tiansheng, a jock monkey.
  • Shino, a peppy deer.
  • Marlo, a cranky hamster.
  • Petri, a snooty mouse.
  • Cephalobot, a smug octopus.
  • Quinn, a sisterly eagle.
• Eight villagers who were absent from the series since Doubutsu no Mori e+ are reintroduced (including four— Azalea, Chabwick, Frett, and Roswell— who previously had no official English names):
  • Ace, a jock bird.
  • Rio, a peppy ostrich.
  • Faith, a sisterly koala (changed from normal in Animal Crossing and e+).
  • Zoe, a normal anteater.
  • Azalea, a snooty rhinoceros.
  • Chabwick, a lazy penguin.
  • Frett, a cranky dog.
  • Roswell, a smug alligator (changed from lazy in e+).
• The Roost, which had been a staple of the series since Animal Crossing: Wild World but was absent from New Horizons up to this point, is reintroduced as an expansion to the museum. This iteration now allows the player to invite characters over through amiibo.
  • Blanca, Booker, Chip, Copper, Digby, Don, Gracie, Grams, Joan, Katie, Leila, Leilani, Lyle, Nat, Pelly, Pete, Phineas, Phyllis, Porter, Mr. Resetti, Dr. Shrunk, and Wendell are all reintroduced as characters who can occasionally visit the Roost; they can also be summoned in Photopia mode.
    • Joan and Nat can also be seen on the main island of the archipelago in the Happy Home Paradise DLC. Their roles are as follows:
      • Joan will visit the hospital every Monday for a checkup once it is built. She will give the player a small number of free turnips when talked to once per Monday; either 30, 50, or 100 turnips, based on chance.
      • Nat will visit the island a single time after a certain number of requests have been completed, in order to allow the player to release uncaged bugs at the exterior of a vacation home, as ambient decoration.
• Villagers can now wear custom designs in Photopia, except for ones that were transferred from New Leaf and Happy Home Designer.
• Several new Mystery Islands are added, including ones with unique features and ones that allow the player to catch out-of-time and out-of-season bugs and fish. Kapp'n is reintroduced and can deliver the player to these islands once per day via the pier for 1,000 Nook Miles.
• Harv's Island is expanded to include a number of new characters and features, which become available after raising enough bells for Harvey:
  • Harriet is reintroduced and sells the player seven exclusive haircuts that they can later access at a mirror.
  • Sahara, Kicks, Leif, and Redd can set up permanent shop instead of appearing solely as traveling vendors, allowing the player to access their services more easily.
  • Reese and Cyrus can set up shop to let the player customize multi-variant furniture that can't be altered with standard Customization Kits.
  • Katrina is reintroduced and tells the player their fortune, letting them know how lucky they are that day.
  • Tortimer is reintroduced and allows the player to access their personal storage directly from Harv's Island.
• The player's personal storage can be upgraded to store 3,200, 4,000, and 5,000 items.
• Leif is now able to de-weed a player's island for 100,000 Bells, storing the weeds in the Recycle Box afterwards.
• DIY recipes can now be placed in storage.
• The player is given increased options for customizing their house exterior, based around the different types of villager houses in-game.
• Between-furniture mobility is increased, allowing the player to move through tighter spaces that were once considered blocked off.
• The Nook Stop includes several new upgrades that the player can purchase:
  • The Pro Designer License, which allows the player to display certain items on the ceiling of their house and apply wallpaper to specific walls (instead of solely covering all four in a room at once).
  • Custom Designs Patterns+, which allows the player to wear Sable's patterns as clothing and display them as flooring or wallpaper.
  • Top 4 Fab Hairstyles, which unlocks four new hairstyles in addition to the seven earned from Harriet.
  • DIY Recipes+, which allows the player to craft edible food items using a kitchen furniture item; several new harvestable plants are introduced to supplement this.
  • The Pro Camera App, which allows the player to play the game in first-person and snap photos from this perspective; villagers will react to the app being active.
• The island's bridge and incline limit is increased from eight to ten.
• Nine new craftable fences are added.
• Fences can be customized.
• Two furniture items are added to allow easier access to certain features:
  • The Storage Shed, enabling personal storage access outside the player's house.
  • The ABD, allowing the player to access their bank account outside the Town Hall.
• Ladder Set-Up Kits are added and can be purchased for 2,000 Bells, enabling the player to craft ladders into items that can be placed on cliffs to scale them without the need for the tool variant.
• The Island Life 101 NookPhone app is added, allowing the player to view gameplay tips.
• Ordinances from Animal Crossing: New Leaf are reintroduced.
• Morning Aerobics from Animal Crossing are reintroduced as Group Stretching.
• 29 new reactions are added, bringing the total to 88:
  • Double Wave, Stretch, Jammin', Listening Ears, Say Cheese, Behold, Eager, Flex, Work It, Act Natural, and Hula can be obtained by purchasing the New Reactions Notebook from the Nook Stop for 3,300 Nook Miles.
  • Posture Warm-Up, Arm Circles, Side Bends, Body Twists, Wide Arm Stretch, Upper-Body Circles, and Jump can be obtained by completing 50 sessions of group stretching.
  • Grooving Hop, Groove Right, Groove Left, Soak It In, Side-to-Side, Island Stomp, Airplane, Twisty Dance, Shimmy, Turnip Patch, and Arm-Swing Dance are exclusive to the Happy Home Paradise DLC, and can be obtained once the player has completed thirty vacation homes and attended DJ KK's first performance.
• Villagers can invite the player to their houses and drop in on the player's house, a mechanic reintroduced from Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
• Gyroids are reintroduced and can be customized.
• Gyroid Fragments are introduced; burying and watering one will turn it into a full Gyroid the next day.
• Twelve new K.K. Slider songs are added: "Chillwave", "K.K. Bashment", "K.K. Break", "K.K. Chorinho", "K.K. Dub", "K.K. Fugue", "K.K. Hop", "K.K. Khoomei", "K.K. Lovers", "K.K. Polka", "K.K. Robot Synth", and "K.K. Slack-Key".
• The Music Box furniture item from Animal Crossing: New Leaf is reintroduced.
• The Fireworks Card and Dawning-Year Card, which previously went unused, are now accessible in normal gameplay.
• Isabelle now mentions which visiting NPC, if any, is present on a player's island during her daily announcements.
• The player is now allowed to choose from one of multiple DIY recipes from Celeste instead of being given a single random one.
• Villagers contribute greater amounts of Bells to public works projects.
• The custom designs limit in the Custom Designs Portal is increased to 200.
• The player can now search islands by name while dreaming.
• The "Sort: Type" option in the player's storage and the Photopia catalog is streamlined.
• The player can press X in Photopia to swap between different cataloged variants of an item.
• The Amp, Bunny Day Planter Box, Floor Sign, Katana, and Trash Bags furniture items are recategorized from Miscellaneous to Housewares, though they can still be placed on surfaces. Conversely, the Air Circulator and Wooden Bucket furniture items are recategorized from Housewares to Miscellaneous, and now can be placed on surfaces.
• Fixes a bug where only trash and stones spawn in certain shapes of bodies of water.
• Several items were renamed:

Original Name	Updated Name
Beige Desert-Tile Flooring	Beige Moroccan Flooring
Beige Desert-Tile Wall	Beige Moroccan Wall
Blue Desert-Tile Flooring	Blue Moroccan Flooring
Blue Desert-Tile Wall	Blue Moroccan Wall
Olive Desert-Tile Flooring	Olive Moroccan Flooring
Olive Desert-Tile Wall	Olive Moroccan Wall
Purple Desert-Tile Flooring	Purple Moroccan Flooring
Purple Desert-Tile Wall	Purple Moroccan Wall
Teacup Ride	Plaza Teacup Ride
Paper Bag	Paper-Bag Hood

Version 2.0.1

Released on November 12, 2021.

Base Game

• Fixes a bug that sometimes occurs when a player attempts to remodel a villager's home with an open Airport gate.
• Fixes a bug that causes the Kiki & Lala's Wand item to be mis-categorized in Nook Shopping as "Not for sale."
• Fixes a bug that prevents the Coconut Juice and Frozen-Treat Set DIY recipes from appearing in the Miscellaneous tab of the DIY app.
• Fixes a bug that causes the Flowing-River Flooring to display incorrectly in Photopia and larger player homes.
• Fixes a bug that causes villagers to try cooking with non-kitchen items.
• Fixes a bug that causes villagers to say their Roost dialogue when visiting a player's home.
• Fixes a bug that causes Portia to sometimes go out-of-bounds when visited in her house.

Happy Home Paradise

• Fixes a bug that softlocks the player when asking to remodel a villager's home while the airport gate is open. Tom Nook now prevents the player from doing this.
• Fixes a bug that allows the player to progress without completing the school designing mission.
• Fixes a bug that brings up an error message when attempting to use amiibo to swap between members at a facility.
• Fixes a bug that allows Joan to give the player unlimited turnips during the hospital mission.
• Fixes a bug that allows the player to gain access to the Ripe Sugarcane Plant item by obtaining a tomato.

Version 2.0.2

Released on November 19, 2021.

Base Game

• Fixes a bug that softlocks the player during the first boat tour by causing Brewster to overlap with them.
• Fixes a bug that softlocks the player during the transitions to and from Kapp'n's mystery islands by causing his song to stop prematurely.
• Fixes a bug that softlocks the player when selecting the "How does this work?" option when starting group stretching during a multiplayer session.
• Fixes a bug that causes Orville and Wilbur to unlock each other's Photopia posters instead of their own.
• Fixes a bug that prevents the player from talking to Kapp'n after placing certain furniture items on the pier.
• Fixes a bug that stops the Pipe furniture item from functioning after visiting a villager's house and discussing buying furniture from them.
• Fixes a bug that causes nearby stereos to override the group stretching music.
• Fixes a bug that causes the "Visit the Roost for a Coffee Break" Nook Miles+ prompt to appear more than once per day.

Happy Home Paradise

• Fixes a bug that crashes the game when leading Leif to the school after having arranged the furniture a certain way.
• Fixes a bug that crashes the game after repeatedly using amiibo to swap out members in a facility or guests at a finished project.
• Fixes a bug that disables the use of the Y button to remove guests after using it to remove an amiibo-invited character.
• Fixes a bug that causes the design portfolio to remain on-screen after speaking to a client on the northern beach during work.
• Fixes a bug where ordering presents from Wardell costs Bells as well as Poki.
• Fixes a bug that causes the message for refunding the Pro Decorating License to appear multiple times.
• Fixes a bug that causes roommates to disappear after finishing a multi-client project in the yard.

Version 2.0.3

Released on November 24, 2021.

Happy Home Paradise

• Fixes a duping bug involving wall-mounted items being stored in the player's storage when using the Room Sketch app.
• Fixes a bug where a villager could appear twice on the main island archipelago.

Version 2.0.4

Released on December 16, 2021.

Base Game

• Adds the remaining zodiac figurine items (Boar, Dog, Dragon, Horse, Monkey, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Rooster, Sheep, and Snake) to the game to complete the set. In addition to being available through seasonal Nook Shopping, all zodiac figurines can now be obtained from Katrina, at a 20% chance to replace the normal post-purification gift.
• Coconut trees on the "vines/glowing moss" Kapp'n tour island now have sand paths around them.
• There is now a 30% chance of a gyroid fragment washing up on the beach each day once the player has grown at least one gyroid.
• The player must now talk to a villager on 10 different days after obtaining their photo to have a chance at receiving another photo from that villager.
• Villager dialogues can no longer repeat twice in a row.
• Timmy and Tommy now remind the player about Nook Friday just once, rather than every time they enter the shop.
• Fixes a bug that causes Ladder Set-Up Kits to disappear when the game is saved with them placed on a diagonal cliff on the third tier of a cliff formation.
• Fixes a bug that prevents the Maple-Leaf Rug and Frozen Floor Tiles from appearing in the ”Seasonal Recipes” tab under their appropriate seasons.
• Fixes a bug that prevents variations of the Dirty Tank Top aside from White and variations of the Ripped Doctor's Coat besides Red Necktie from appearing in the recycle box.
• More items were renamed:

Original Name	Updated Name
Fish and Chips	Fish-and-Chips
Tee with Silicon Bib	Tee with Silicone Bib

Happy Home Paradise

• Fixes a bug where facility members wearing clothing that uses Custom Designs appear to not be wearing any clothing.
• Fixes a bug in ”Showroom” where uploading the player’s facilities after visiting another player’s facilities resulted in members of the player’s facilities appearing as island residents that visited the facilities.
• Work clothes obtained by Paradise Planning can no longer be stored on the player's island, and any obtained on hacked islands will disappear from the player's inventory unless it is worn.

Version 2.0.5

Released on February 15, 2022, this is the last regular update that the game received, thus marking the end of its games-as-a-service model after nearly two years of support. The next and most recent update wouldn't be until nine months later, and that was just a routine security fix for multiple games rather than being specific to New Horizons.

Base Game

• Fixes a bug where any explanation of Photopia would not progress under certain conditions after moving to a another island.
• Fixes a bug with game progression in terms of villager dialogue due to a bunch of furniture items being placed around.
• Fixes a bug that caused Luna to repeat the explanation given when selecting the option "Search by island name."
• Fixes a bug where island residents would wear a custom design differently than what it was intended for in Able Sisters.
• Fixes a bug where using the Room Sketch app, Happy Home Network app, or the Custom Designs Portal would make the villager currently visiting in the player's house to remain.

Happy Home Paradise

• Fixes a bug where adding a door decoration in the process of remodeling a villager's house would sometimes be removed when a new day has started.
• Fixes a bug where trying to go to a vacation home that had an ant or a fly released there in the yard but did not meet the spawning conditions and would result in the player not being able to progress further than the loading screen.
• Fixes a bug where any events would not progress properly if the game was closed during a certain point while working on a facility.

Version 2.0.6

Released on November 14, 2022. The only change made was to fix a security vulnerability that allowed users to crash the game or inject code; this vulnerability is now known as ENLBufferPwn. Similar updates were provided for ARMS, Splatoon 2, and Super Mario Maker 2 the same day.