Animal Crossing: New Horizons - when is it coming to Switch 2 and how to access Slumber Island in update

Released in 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) is a cosy, creative game where you design an island and invite anthropomorphic animals to become residents.

The cutesy art style and adorable villagers (shoutout to Fauna) made the game a massive hit on the Nintendo Switch, and half a decade later the game still has a massive following.

Now, it has been announced that ACNH will be ported to the Switch 2 - along with some massive quality-of-life changes and even a new island.

But if you’re still on the original Switch, don’t fret, as you’ll be getting all of the compatible updates too.

Here is everything that’s changing for the Switch 2 port, and what we’re getting in the free upgrade that will drop in January.

Switch 2 upgrades for ACNH

As with every game that has been ported to the Switch 2, ACNH will be getting updated 4k visuals when playing with the console docked.

With the Switch 2’s upgraded joy-cons, there is more capacity for integrating game features into the controls. Chief among these is being able to use the mouse controls to decorate houses on your island. No more battling stick drift to put up a painting - now just point and click on the screen.

Perhaps the most adorable feature will use the joy-cons’ built-in microphone; instead of trash talking like in Mario Kart World, you can use it to call for your villagers. Simply call out Wolfgang’s name and he will literally come running to you.

Most Switch 2 ports are also upgraded to 60fps - but with Animal Crossing that won’t be the case, with Nintendo’s exclusive title locked at 30fps instead.

What’s in the free update?

January’s free update will also see additions for both versions of the game, building on the success of the past five years.

First and foremost, there will be a new resort hotel on the island, run by Kapp'n's family. The hotel is a blank slate for you to decorate to please hotel guests; putting a smile on their face will yield tickets, which can be exchanged for more hotel furniture and clothing.

Home storage will be bumped up from 5,000 to 9,000 items, with the ability to put some of Nintendo’s retro consoles into the game - which, with an online membership, will allow you to actually play games on them.

A new service from Resetti will also allow you to completely clear and flatten an area of your island, should you want to remodel it without putting all the effort into doing so.

Finally, Slumber Island will be released. By putting your character to bed, you can access a second island, which will be completely blank and allow you to customise it entirely to your liking, including adding villagers and allowing your friends to come and visit.