The Internet has been going gaga overAnimal Crossingsince a special editionAnimal Crossing: New Horizons-themed Nintendo Switchwas unveiled Thursday. However, interested buyers may want to consider purchasing the new hardware as a supplemental device to their current Switch rather than a replacement, as only one island will be able to exist in each device regardless of how many users are registered or how many different copies of the game are used.
This fact was dug up from the Australian Nintendo webpage forAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsand publicized byAnimal Crossingfan community ACPocketNews on Twitter. The page talks about eight players being able to work together on one island as a selling feature, but points to a footnote describing the one-island-per-device policy.
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This policy is very different than other Switch games like theincredibly sellingPokemon SwordandShield, in which individual account holders on one device can experience their own journey through the Galar Region. In a way the idea served as a backdoor ‘multiple save file’ system for a long-running series that has historically lacked the option, but the similar ‘one file only’Animal Crossingwill not have the same luxury.
Alongside this one-island policy, the Australian Nintendo page also describes themultiplayer system inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsat large, namely the fact that multiple Switch devices are required to support eight players at once. Anyone looking to skip work and get together with seven of their closest friends to terraform an island for adorable animal companions may want to keep these constraints in mind.
Though it’s somewhat deflating that the newAnimal Crossingwill not allow for the same level of consequence-free replayability or sibling pass-and-play as something likePokemon SwordandShield, it makes sense considering how many intricate working parts will be involved just keeping one island alive at all hours on each given device. Those looking to run multiple islands at least have the option to findAnimal Crossing: New Horizonspre-order dealsrelated to the game at different retailers.
The design decision certainly has not seemed to affect theAnimal Crossinghype train going into March. Evencelebrities like Brie Larsonhave expressed their interest in the game’s newest bundle on social media, and that fervor will likely not stop anytime soon.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsreleases on June 23, 2025, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
