The winter update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be released on November 19th, according to Nintendo. A festive mood is spreading on the island paradises even before the first Advent: The update enriches the Life-Sim with the Schlemmfest, the toy day, new reactions and hairstyles as well as winter weather, snow included. Nintendo is also implementing some quality of life improvements. At the same time, the winter update will be the last content expansion of the year.
The current year at Animal Crossing: New Horizons does not end without a big bang, which of course means the turn of the year on December 31st: from 19 p.m. local time, the countdown starts, where players can celebrate the New Year together with their islanders, friends and families . Before that, however, it's still Christmas - and Nintendo is also bringing plenty of festive content into the game with the winter update.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is celebrating Toy Day
It's getting colder outside. It goes without saying that winter has to move in on the islands at Animal Crossing: New Horizons, including a happy holiday mood. With the update coming out on November 19, Nintendo will ring in the pre-Christmas season for fans of the Life Sim and then continue the party until New Year's Eve.
If players live on a virtual island in the northern hemisphere, they will shortly see colorful leaves falling from the trees - and the first snow will soon fall softly.
In time for the holiday season, Animal Crossing: New Horizons players will receive additional free content, including new in-game events, with the release of the Winter Update. Together with friends, family and the islanders you can celebrate seasonal festivals and end the year in-game.
A trailer shows what is in the new update:
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The content includes in particular the new seasonal events, such as the Schlemmfest starting on November 26th or Toy Day on December 24th. The winter update also includes new reactions and hairstyles, an expansion of the warehouse and new ways to transfer save data. All you need is an internet connection and a Nintendo Account - and of course, in the case of online games, membership Nintendo Switch Online.
Regardless of which hemisphere the island the player is in, the winter update brings the following content:
Autumn festival
The new autumn event is likely to be a highlight: On November 26th, top chef Gernod is holding the Schlemmfest - and players can help him to collect ingredients for the dishes that will be offered on the fairground. As a thank you, fans will then receive a gift. Important: In order to take part in this event, the island's service center must have been expanded.
Toy Day on Christmas Eve
The toy day is something like the culmination of the winter festival month. Players will find that their island and fairground look increasingly festive in the coming weeks. For example, they discover decorated trees: As soon as you shake them, colored tree decorations fall down, with which the players can decorate their island for the holidays thanks to new handicraft instructions.
From December 1st to December 25th you can also buy toys in Nook's shop and festive clothes in the tailor's shop. On December 24th, Official Toy Day, Chris, a friendly reindeer, will visit each island to give gifts. Anyone who helps them deliver them will also receive a gift. For certain tasks, it is also necessary here that the island's service center has been expanded.
New reactions and hairstyles
Animal Crossing: New Horizons fans can take advantage of nine new reactions and six new hairstyles when they redeem their Nook Miles at the Service Center's Nook portal.
Expansion of the home storage
Players who have already fully expanded and paid off their virtual island home can apply for an additional expansion of their home warehouse. All you have to do is speak to Tom Nook at the service center to expand the storage space to 2400 slots.
Visiting random islands in a dream
An exciting innovation awaits everyone who likes to visit other islands in their dreams: You can now get to know random islands in your sleep and thus gain new ideas and inspiration for your own island design.
Transfer of memory data
Two new functions enable more flexible handling of resident and island data. The resident data of individual players can now be transferred to another system. This includes the resident's name, appearance and equipment as well as the inventory, the home and the warehouse. A separate island transfer software in turn enables players to transfer their saved data together with the entire island and all of its inhabitants to another system.
This service is supported by free island transfer software in the Nintendo eShop. For more information on the new broadcast services, see the following page: nintendo.de/ACNH-transfer.
And there will be something else with the winter update, namely a cooperation with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. To celebrate the third birthday of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, a Pocket Camp smartphone will be available in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The winter update then closes the current year in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. According to Nintendo, the next update will be released at the end of January, which will also be the first update in 2021.
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