Animal Crossing: New Horizons is still very popular, and its sales have already surpassed the lifetime sales projections for the Animal Crossing game series. The game's initial release was more than two years ago, but its popularity has only grown since then. Despite the fact that Nintendo has confirmed it will no longer release major updates for ACNH NMT after version 2.0, which is scheduled to be released in the late 2021, the game continues to be popular and maintains a sizeable and devoted fanbase of players. The paid downloadable content called Happy Home Paradise, which was released at the same time as the free update version 2.0, added a ton of interesting new content. Version 2.0 was released. The downloadable content (DLC) that gives players the ability to design vacation homes for ACNH villagers can be credited with the resurgence of interest in the game, as well as an increase in the number of players coming back to try out Happy Home Paradise for themselves. In addition, this can be attributed to the fact that more players are coming back to try out Happy Home Paradise for themselves.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons was made available for the Nintendo Switch when it was initially released in March of 2020. Its unanticipated rise to unprecedented levels of popularity is frequently attributed to the fact that the release of New Horizons coincided with mandatory lockdowns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because the pandemic began around the same time as the release of New Horizons. The abbreviation ACNH swiftly became synonymous with life in lockdown, which assisted in keeping the players' spirits positive during a period that lasted for an unprecedented amount of time. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has achieved lifetime sales of more than 38 million copies, making it the second best-selling video game for the Nintendo Switch ever, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe being the all-time leader in this category. The video game had lifetime sales of more than 22 million copies within the first four months after it was made available all over the world.
According to Statista, as of the month of March 2022, sales of more than 38 million copies of Animal Crossing: New Horizons have been racked up. In 2020, the year that New Horizons was released to astounding reviews as well as phenomenal success at the box office, there were 31 million of those sales. Despite the fact that sales in subsequent years pale in comparison to sales in 2020, New Horizons has now surpassed the total number of units sold for all of the other Animal Crossing games combined. This is the case despite the fact that New Horizons was released in 2020. The fact that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has managed to maintain its popularity for such a long period of time, in addition to its recent rise in popularity as a result of the release of Happy Home Paradise, demonstrates that ACNH's viral popularity was not entirely the result of quarantines. Even in 2022, more than two years after its initial launch, the most recent entry in the Animal Crossing series will still be one of the video games that receives the most playtime on the Nintendo Switch platform. This will be the case despite the fact that it is the newest installment in the series.
Despite the fact that Nintendo has stated that New Horizons will no longer receive major updates after the release of version 2.0 and the Happy Home Paradise paid downloadable content, the game will still receive updates that contain minor adjustments, such as bug fixes, in order to ensure that the game is kept in good condition and is always playable. In addition, Animal Crossing: New Horizons features a multitude of one-time events, such as Bunny Day and May Day, that players can take part in to keep themselves occupied and engaged throughout the course of each month of the game's lifespan. In addition, players can look forward to in-game competitions such as the Bug-Off and Animal Crossing's Fishing Tourney, both of which award players with prizes for catching particular types of creatures that can be found within the game world.
It is very likely that Animal Crossing: New Horizons will continue to be a fan favorite among gamers who own Nintendo Switch consoles as well as members of the Animal Crossing fan community in the future. This is due to the fact that it is not anticipated that the next installment in the Animal Crossing series will be released for at least one more year. Taking into account the fact that the game has sold 38 million copies since its launch and that the average trend interest is between 4-6 percent, this indicates that approximately 2,228,000 of the 38 million people who purchased ACNH are still playing it on a regular basis. Since the average trend interest is between 4-6 percent, this indicates that the game has been a success.
Up until that point, New Horizons had established itself as the most successful entry in the series, both in terms of sales and of critical acclaim. It had received the highest possible score on Metacritic out of all of the Animal Crossing video games. It has been more than two years since the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but the game has already amassed a devoted fanbase. This goes to show that the game's popularity is not solely attributable to the pandemic-related lockdowns. The fact that a significant number of Nintendo Switch players continue to enjoy the game on a daily basis demonstrates that the popularity of the game is not solely attributable to lockdowns caused by the pandemic.
There are a few villagers in Animal Crossing: New Horizons who seem to be out for blood, despite the fact that the majority of the villagers in the game are cute and appear to have good intentions. Due to Barold's habit of monitoring the entirety of the island from his home and Walt's disposition of being bellicose, certain villagers give off the impression of being either creepy or dangerous to be around. This is because both of these behaviors come from Walt. Despite this, it is highly likely that some of these ACNH villagers are more dangerous than others.
It stands to reason that none of the other villagers can hold a candle to Zipper T. Bunny, the yellow rabbit, because he is more terrifying than death itself, and no one else in the village comes close. However, there is no question in anyone's mind that there are additional island residents who display signs of being murderers. They will never come forward and admit their guilt because doing so within the warm and fuzzy setting of Animal Crossing: New Horizons would never be acceptable. Therefore, they will never do so. On the other hand, the houses and character designs of these villagers might throw some light on the more nefarious activities that they engage in and give some insight into the sources of their more sinister motivations.