Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series made and published by Nintendo. The game was created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. In the game, the player controls a human character who lives in a village with many animals that look and act like humans. Players can do activities like fishing, catching insects, and digging for fossils. The series is known for letting players choose how to play, funny conversations, music that changes every hour, and using the console’s built-in clock and calendar to show the passing of real time.

The first Animal Crossing game was released in 2001. Since then, five main games have been released worldwide: one for the Nintendo 64/iQue Player (later re-released for the GameCube), one for the Nintendo DS, one for the Wii, one for the Nintendo 3DS, and one for the Nintendo Switch. The series has received good reviews and sold over 81 million copies worldwide. Three additional games based on the series have also been released: Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for the Nintendo 3DS, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival for the Wii U, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for mobile devices. Extra content called Happy Home Paradise was also sold separately for the Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Gameplay

In the Animal Crossing games, players take on the role of a human character who moves into a rural village filled with animal-like characters. The player lives in the village forever and can choose how to spend their time. There are no set goals, but players can collect items, craft things, plant flowers, catch insects, fish, and talk to the animals in the village. The game runs in real time, meaning the time of day and seasons in the game match the real world. Events like holidays or trees growing happen at specific times or take time to complete.

A special part of the Animal Crossing series is the ability to customize the game experience. At the start, the player chooses their character’s appearance, which can be changed later by buying clothes, designing outfits, or changing hairstyles. Players can also decorate their homes, move furniture, and expand their houses. While the village’s layout and starting animals are randomly created (except in New Leaf and New Horizons, where players choose from four options), the village’s name, anthem, and some animal characters’ phrases are chosen by the player.

Collecting items is a big part of the game. Players can gather things like fruit, seashells, and found objects around the village. Most items can be sold for Bells, which are used to buy furniture, clothes, expand homes, or play games. Special tools help with fishing and catching insects. Unique items like fossils or paintings can be donated to the village museum. Players can also talk to animals, send letters, trade items, or play games like hide-and-seek. Some animals may move in or out of the village based on the player’s choices.

All Animal Crossing games let players communicate with others, both offline and online. Up to four players can live in one village (eight in New Horizons), but only one can explore at a time. Players can send messages through the village post office or bulletin board. Earlier versions allowed sharing game data via memory cards, while later versions let players connect online through Nintendo Wi-Fi. Some games, like City Folk, also let players visit other villages using a special device.

Characters

The series includes different villagers for each game, but some important characters appear in every game.

Tom Nook is a tanuki (or raccoon in America) who works as a shop owner and real estate broker. He gives players a loan to build their house and upgrade it. Players can pay back the loan without interest.

Mr. Resetti is a mole who appears from underground when players turn off the game without saving. He scolds players for skipping a game rule that allows them to reset events. Because of a new autosave feature, he was no longer needed in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but he found a new job as the Rescue Service operator.

K.K. Slider is a dog who travels and plays music. He is inspired by the game’s composer, Kazumi Totaka. He performs music in the player’s town on certain nights and gives players a free copy of the song. Some fans thought this supported music piracy, but Nintendo said it was not meant as a message about that.

In New Horizons, Isabelle appears as the town community manager and Tom Nook’s secretary. She was first introduced in New Leaf, where she helped the player character in a similar way. She allows players to change the town’s flag and music, and reset parts of town life, such as nicknames and villager outfits.

Tom Nook’s apprentices, Timmy and Tommy (also tanukis), manage the convenience store Nook’s Cranny in later games. Mabel and Sable, two hedgehogs, run a clothing store called the Able Sisters. Orville and Wilbur, two dodos introduced in New Horizons, manage Dodo Airlines, the only airport on the island.

Development

Animal Crossing was first released in Japan for the Nintendo 64 on April 14, 2001. A revised version was released for the GameCube the same year. This version was translated and released in North America on September 16, 2002, Australia on October 17, 2003, and Europe on September 24, 2004. An expanded version called "Dōbutsu no Mori e+" was released in Japan on June 27, 2003. The Nintendo 64 version of the game was later released in China in 2006 for the iQue Player.

Wild World was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on November 23, 2005, North America on December 5, 2005, Australia on December 8, 2005, and Europe on March 31, 2006. It was the first game in the series to use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game was later re-released on the Wii U Virtual Console on October 13, 2016, but its Wi-Fi multiplayer feature was not available because Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was no longer supported.

City Folk, known as Let's Go to the City in Europe and Australia, was released for the Wii in North America on November 16, 2008, Japan on November 20, 2008, Australia on December 4, 2008, and Europe on December 5, 2008. It was later released in South Korea in 2010. It was the first Wii game to use the Wii Speak, an accessory that allows players to talk to each other during online play.

New Leaf was announced at E3 2010. It was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on November 8, 2012, North America on June 9, 2013, Europe on June 14, 2013, and Australia on June 15, 2013. For the first time in the series, players are appointed as Mayor. In November 2016, an update called Welcome amiibo was released, adding new locations, items, and activities.

Happy Home Designer is a community simulation game for the Nintendo 3DS and the first spin-off in the Animal Crossing series. It was released in Japan on July 30, 2015, North America on September 25, 2015, Europe on October 2, 2015, and Australia on October 3, 2015. The game focuses on designing houses for villagers based on their requests. By scanning Amiibo cards, players can unlock the ability to design special characters' homes. The game received a score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic, which means it has "mixed or average reviews."

Amiibo Festival is a party game for the Wii U released in November 2015 that uses Amiibo heavily. It received negative reviews from critics. The game was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development and NDcube.

In April 2016, Nintendo announced a mobile version of Animal Crossing, later named Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, as part of their mobile game lineup. The game was soft launched in Australia in October 2017 and released worldwide on November 21, 2017. Pocket Camp has a rating of 72 out of 100 on Metacritic.

New Horizons was announced in a Nintendo Direct in September 2018 for the Nintendo Switch. The game was released worldwide on March 20, 2020, though it was originally planned for 2019. It became the first console game to reach five million digital sales within a month, with high sales often linked to social distancing and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. After its release, the game received additional content updates, and future additions are rumored to be coming. It won Best Family Game at The Game Awards 2020. In October 2021, Nintendo announced a paid DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons called Happy Home Paradise, which was released on November 5, 2021. Happy Home Paradise is a sequel to Happy Home Designer and involves designing vacation homes for villagers on an archipelago resort. The DLC introduces two new non-villager characters: Wardell, a manatee who runs a shop in the resort’s headquarters, and Niko, a small monkey found on the docks near a boat. It also adds new apps to the NookPhone, including Room Sketch and the Happy Home Network app.

On August 21, 2024, the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp X account announced that the game would end its service on November 28. It was replaced with a paid version without microtransactions called Pocket Camp Complete. In October 2025, a Nintendo Switch 2 edition of New Horizons was announced for release on January 15, 2026.

• Animal Crossing Plaza, a WaraWara Plaza-like app for the Wii U. Limited-time promotion for Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
• Animal Crossing Clock, a clock system app for the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS.
• Animal Crossing Calculator, a calculator app for the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS.
• Photos with Animal Crossing, a camera app for the Nintendo 3DS that allows players to take photos with Animal Crossing characters

Reception

The Animal Crossing games have received positive responses. The first four main series games are among the best-selling video games for their respective consoles. Animal Crossing sold 2.71 million copies, Wild World sold 11.75 million, City Folk sold 3.38 million, New Leaf sold 13.04 million, and Happy Home Designer sold 3.04 million. New Horizons surpassed the lifetime sales of all past installments within its first six weeks of release and became the second best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch system with 47.82 million sales. Amiibo Festival was a critical and commercial failure; in Japan, it sold 87,872 copies. In total, the Animal Crossing franchise has sold 81.83 million units worldwide.

In terms of gross revenue, the mobile game Pocket Camp made over $150 million by April 2020. New Horizons made an estimated $2 billion in its first year as of March 2021, the fifth highest ever first-year revenue for any video game. This brings total revenue to over $2.15 billion for New Horizons and Pocket Camp as of March 2021.

Legacy

Former president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, said that 56% of people who bought Animal Crossing: New Leaf with a Nintendo 3DS were female. He noted that the game's popularity among women aged 19 to 24 was especially important.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was used by activists in Hong Kong to express their views. In response, the game was taken off online stores like Taobao in mainland China, though copies imported from other regions remained available for sale.

In the Wii game WarioWare: Smooth Moves, released in Japan in 2006 and other regions in 2007, there is a minigame inspired by Animal Crossing: Wild World. Players must catch fish using the same methods as in the original game.

The 2008 Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl includes elements from Wild World. A stage called "Smashville," based on an animal village, changes its scenery based on the Wii system clock and uses music from the original game. Mr. Resetti and a pitfall seed, characters that appear in all Animal Crossing games, are included as an Assist Trophy and an item in Brawl. The game also includes 24 collectible trophies based on Animal Crossing characters and items.

Wii Music includes two songs from Animal Crossing that players can perform.

The minigame "Animal Crossing: Sweet Day" in Nintendo Land is based on the Animal Crossing series. Players use the Wii Remote to collect candy and store it in their head without being caught by Gatekeepers, who are controlled with the Wii U GamePad.

A character named "Villager," representing the Animal Crossing series, appears as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The character has male and female versions, which players choose when selecting the fighter. The character's abilities include catching opponents in a net and using Lloid the gyroid as a missile. Isabelle from New Leaf appears as an Assist Trophy and later as a standalone fighter in Ultimate. Two new Animal Crossing-themed stages appear in the games: "Town & City" from City Folk in the Wii U version and "Tortimer Island" from New Leaf in the 3DS version. "Smashville" from Brawl returns in the Wii U version.

Villager and Isabelle are playable characters in Mario Kart 8 through downloadable content, along with a track based on Animal Crossing and a racing series called the "Crossing Cup." These characters, the track, and a Mii racing suit inspired by the series were also added to the Nintendo Switch version of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

In June 2015, costume options for the "Palico" companion in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate were released. These costumes were based on Isabelle and Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing.

An anime film adaptation of Wild World, titled Dōbutsu no Mori, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006. The film was made by OLM, Inc. and distributed by Toho. It earned ¥1.8 billion (about $19.2 million) at the box office.

In June 2020, a manga adaptation of New Horizons, titled New Horizons-Deserted Island Diary, began being published in Shogakukan's Monthly CoroCoro Comics magazine. In November 2021, the manga moved to Bessatsu CoroCoro Comics magazine and the CoroCoro Manga Toshokan website. The manga is available in North America through Viz Media.

In March 2024, five Lego sets featuring Animal Crossing characters were released.