Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series made and released by Nintendo. It was designed 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 enjoy activities such as fishing, catching insects, and searching for fossils. The series is famous for its flexible gameplay, funny conversations, music that changes every hour, and its use of the console’s clock and calendar to mimic the passage of real time.

The first Animal Crossing game was released in 2001. Since then, five main games have been made for different Nintendo systems: Nintendo 64/iQue Player (later improved and reissued for the GameCube), Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch. The series has been very successful, with more than 81 million copies sold worldwide. Three additional games based on the series have also been created: Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for Nintendo 3DS, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival for Wii U, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for mobile devices. A paid downloadable content pack called Happy Home Paradise was also released for the Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Gameplay

In the Animal Crossing games, players control a human character who moves into a small village filled with animals that look and act like humans. The game has no set goals, and players can spend time doing many activities, such as collecting items, making things, planting flowers, catching insects, fishing, and talking to other villagers. The game runs in real time, using the clock and calendar on the video game console. This means time in the game matches real life, including the seasons and time of day. Some events, like holidays or trees growing, happen at certain times or take time to complete.

A special part of the Animal Crossing series is the ability to customize the game. At the start, the player chooses their character's appearance, and later can change it by buying clothes, designing accessories, or changing hairstyles. Players can also decorate and expand their house by buying furniture, changing wall and floor designs, and arranging items. When the game begins, the village's layout, buildings, and residents are randomly created, except in New Leaf and New Horizons, where players choose between four different towns or islands. The village's name, anthem, and some residents' phrases are also chosen by the player.

Collecting items is an important part of the game. Players can gather objects like fruit, seashells, and items found on the ground. Most items can be sold for Bells, the game's money. Players use Bells to buy furniture, clothes, expand their homes, or play games. Special tools help with activities like fishing and catching insects. Some items, like fossils or paintings, can be given to the village museum. Players can interact with other villagers by talking, sending letters, trading items, or playing games like hide-and-seek. Villagers may move in or out of the village based on the player's choices.

All Animal Crossing games allow players to communicate with others, both offline and online. Up to four human 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. In the GameCube version, players could visit other villages by trading memory cards. Later versions let players connect online through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and some, like City Folk, also allowed using the DS Suitcase to visit other players' towns.

Characters

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

Tom Nook is a tanuki (or raccoon in America) who works as both a shop owner and a real estate agent. He helps players get a loan to build their house and upgrade it, and lets them pay it back without interest.

Mr. Resetti is a mole who appears from underground when players turn off the game without saving. He scolds them for skipping a game rule. Because of a new autosave feature, he was "fired" in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but he now works as the Rescue Service operator.

K.K. Slider is a dog who travels and plays music. He is based on the game's composer, Kazumi Totaka. He performs in the player's town on certain nights and gives players a free copy of the song he plays, saying his music "wants to be free." Some fans thought this supported copying music without permission, but Nintendo said it was not meant as a message about piracy.

In New Horizons, Isabelle appears as the town community manager and works as Tom Nook's assistant. She was first introduced in New Leaf, where she helped the player character in a similar way. She lets players change the town's flag and music, and reset parts of town life, like 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 hedgehog characters, run the clothing store called the Able Sisters. Orville and Wilbur, two dodo characters introduced in New Horizons, operate Dodo Airlines, the only airport on the island.

Development

Animal Crossing was first released in Japan for the Nintendo 64 on April 14, 2001. The game was improved and released for the GameCube in 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 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. However, its Wi-Fi multiplayer feature is unavailable because Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was discontinued.

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. This game was the first Wii title to use the Wii Speak, an accessory that allows players to speak 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 assigned the role of 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 involves designing homes for villagers based on their requests. Players can unlock the ability to design special characters' homes by scanning Amiibo cards. The game received a score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic, which means the reviews were mixed or average.

Amiibo Festival is a party game for the Wii U released in November 2015. It heavily uses Amiibo. The game received unfavorable reviews from critics. It 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. 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 on 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. High sales were often linked to social distancing and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. After its release, the game became one of the few in the series to receive post-launch content, with future updates rumored to be coming. The game 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. The DLC 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, a resort dedicated to vacation homes. The DLC introduces two new non-villager characters: Wardell, a manatee who runs a shop in the archipelago’s headquarters, and Niko, a small monkey found on the docks near a boat. The DLC 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 posted a statement announcing the end of service for the game on November 28. It was replaced with a paid version without microtransactions, titled 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 good reviews. The first four main series games are among the best-selling video games for their 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 sold more copies than all previous games combined in its first six weeks of release. It became the second best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch system, with 47.82 million copies sold. Amiibo Festival was not successful; in Japan, it sold only 87,872 copies. In total, the Animal Crossing franchise has sold 81.83 million copies worldwide.

In terms of money earned, the mobile game Pocket Camp made over $150 million by April 2020. New Horizons made about $2 billion in its first year by March 2021, which was the fifth highest first-year revenue for any video game. Together, New Horizons and Pocket Camp earned over $2.15 billion by March 2021.

Legacy

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

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was used by democracy activists in Hong Kong as a way to protest. In response, the game was removed from online stores like Taobao in mainland China, even though it was not officially blocked there. Copies of the game imported from other countries are still available for sale.

In the 2006 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 a 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" is based on an animal village and changes its scenery according to the Wii system clock. It also uses songs from the original game. Mr. Resetti and a pitfall seed, which appear in all Animal Crossing games, are included as an Assist Trophy and an item. The game also features 24 collectible trophies based on Animal Crossing characters and items.

Wii Music includes two playable songs from Animal Crossing.

In Nintendo Land, there is a minigame called "Animal Crossing: Sweet Day." Players use the Wii Remote to collect candy and store it in their head without being caught by Gatekeepers, who are controlled using the two Wii U GamePad analog sticks.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a character named "Villager" represents the Animal Crossing series. Players can choose male or female versions of the character. The character can trap others in a net and launch Lloid the gyroid as a missile. Isabelle from New Leaf appears as an Assist Trophy and later as a fighter in Ultimate. Two new Animal Crossing stages are included: "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.

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

In June 2015, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate added costume options for the player's "Palico" companion featuring Isabelle and Mr. Resetti.

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

In June 2020, a manga adaptation based on New Horizons, titled New Horizons-Deserted Island Diary, began appearing in Shogakukan's Monthly CoroCoro Comics magazine. It later moved to Bessatsu CoroCoro Comics and the CoroCoro Manga Toshokan web service. Viz Media licensed the manga for North America.

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