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🙌 Nintendo is releasing a “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition” for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, available as a $4.99 upgrade or a full $64.99 purchase
😣 Despite numerous upgrades, the game will still run at 30fps, unlike other Switch 2 Edition titles
🆕 New features include a Resort Hotel, additional storage, Slumber Island for designing multiple islands, and collaborations with Nintendo and LEGO
👍 The update also adds mouse controls, 12-player online support, 4K docked resolution, CameraPlay, and a megaphone item
Walmart: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Best Buy: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
GameStop: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Amazon: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Nintendo has announced a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition for Animal Crossing: New Horizons – the second best-selling Switch game of all time.
However, even though the upgrade is set to cost $4.99, there’s one element that Nintendo decided to leave untouched: the frame rate.
Yes, Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will still output at 30fps, which seems like a huge missed opportunity. Clearly, the Switch 2 is powerful enough to run the game at a more responsive and smooth 60fps, but that isn’t the case here.
It bucks the trend of other Nintendo Switch 2 Editions, as we’ve seen the frame rate and resolution of older games get a much-needed boost. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Splatoon 3, and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker are but a few examples.
Thankfully, the Switch 2 upgrade will include some new content for players to enjoy. There’s the Resort Hotel, where you can decorate guest rooms and more. New storage options have been added to your home. Slumber Island lets you design and save up to three islands to play with friends online. And collaborations are now available, which include Nintendo items, LEGO items, and new amiibo unlocks.
The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition update also adds mouse controls to make furniture management and decorating easier, up to 12-player online support, 4K resolution when docked, CameraPlay, and a megaphone item, which uses the Switch 2’s built-in microphone.
But the frame rate? That remains perhaps the only area that Nintendo didn’t see fit to change.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will be sold physically and digitally for $64.99. Those who already own the game can upgrade for $4.99. It’s out on January 15, 2026.
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Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. He also runs a retro gaming YouTube channel called Game on, boy! Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.
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