The newly announcedAnimal Crossingcollab has fans of the cozy series excited about new merchandise, but there might be a darker side to the announcement. Even thoughAnimal Crossing: New Horizonswas the most successful entry in the franchise, the continued emphasis placed on that game could be a detriment to the series.
The recently announcedcollaboration betweenAnimal Crossingand Crocsboth surprised and delighted fans on its reveal. Crocs has been dipping its toes into video game collabs as of late, partnering with games likeMinecraft,Fortnite, andPokemon, withAnimal Crossingas the latest game to join these icons of the industry. The shoes feature designs based on theNew Horizonsisland and overworld map, and will include jibbitz charms of fan-favorite characters and icons from the game. The design of the shoes couldn’t have come out better, but the fact that they are based so heavily onNew Horizonsmight not be the best news for fans hoping for a new title in the near future.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Popularity is Beginning to Fade
There’s no overstating how impactful the release ofAnimal Crossing: New Horizonswas for both the success of the series and the Nintendo Switch. Both longtime fans and newcomers were quickly drawn to the game, and it resonated in a way thatAnimal Crossingnever had before. It remains one of the Switch’s top-selling titles and even has fans porting their saves over to the Switch 2. The transferring of data to the Switch 2 even led to apatch forAnimal Crossing: New Horizonson June 18in order to fix a few issues with its performance on the new console. But it’s worth noting that the new patch didn’t add any new content. Some have taken this as an indication thatNew Horizonsmight be on the way out. If that’s the case, though, the Crocs announcement, release, andNew Horizonstheming could be bad news for the series’ future.
When Will There be a Switch 2 Animal Crossing Game?
With the Switch 2 finally in stores and new titles likeMario Kart Worldcontinuing Nintendo’s most popular franchises on the new console,Animal Crossingfans have been hoping for news about a new game. Speculation about what the series could improve upon afterNew Horizons’ whirlwind success has been rampant, and there are evenrumors about a newAnimal Crossinggamebeing announced soon. But, with no concrete evidence of a follow-up on the way, the timing ofNew Horizons-inspired Crocs might be distressing to some fans. After all, it wouldn’t make sense to release merchandise for the previous game in a series if the next one were coming any time soon.
Of course, the absence of news doesn’t always mean that there isn’t news to announce, so players shouldn’t give up hope. If nothing else, it seems inevitable that the Switch 2 will receive anAnimal Crossinggame eventually. With the recent boom in life sim games,the nextAnimal Crossinghas an obvious nextstep to take in order to compete.
The likes ofDisney Dreamlight ValleyandPaliahave spoiled fans when it comes to quality of life inclusions thatAnimal Crossinglacks. Faster travel and better inventory management are a must for the next game, as well as an expansion ofNew Horizons’ customization features. With a few simple improvements, the next game in the series has the potential to be even better thanNew Horizonswhen it does finally arrive.
The Crocs collaboration is ultimately good news on the surface.Crocs' various video game collabshave all been with massively popular titles, showing that people both in and outside the games industry have taken notice ofAnimal Crossing. Even five years after its release,Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis still inspiring fans and creators. So, even if a new game has yet to be announced, and may not be in the near future,Animal Crossingis still going strong as a series.
