Animal Crossing: New Horizons Datamining Possibly Uncovers Major New Upcoming Features

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been getting updates since its release on a pretty regular basis, and if it wasn’t already clear from the way Nintendo has handled post-launch support for major releases over the past few years, their latest release’s wild commercial success should be enough indication that they plan on supporting this game for some time to come. And according to details dug up from the game’s code by dataminer @_Ninji on Twitter, some of the updates coming up might introduce some very interesting new features.

Most interesting is the possible addition of mechanics that would be completely new to the series. There’s mention of being able to swim, which would yield fish (different from the ones you’d get from fishing) and seaweed. Perhaps taking a leaf out of Stardew Valley’s book, the code also includes data for players being able to plant and grow vegetables, including tomatoes, wheat, sugar cane, potatoes, carrots, and pumpkins. Meanwhile, new bushes – namely azalea, hibiscus, holly, hydrangea, camellia, and osmanthus – are also mentioned. Cooking, in fact, might be a whole new thing, with things such as recipes for dishes and various dishes themselves being mentioned (or at least hinted at) in the code.

New buildings might also get added. These include a museum shop and a museum cafe, with the latter also including a Gyroid section. Existing buildings might also get new upgrades, including the museum, which might be in line for two upgrades, and Nook’s Cranny, which might be in line for one more. The art section of the museum, which has been previously leaked, is also mentioned.

Speaking of art, it’s possible that the fake art mechanic might be coming back. It also seems the character Redd might be re-introduced, and that he might be docking his ship on the secret norther beach of the island. Additionally, there might be a whole new section getting added to the Critterpedia, under the category of “Seafood”, which apparently has 33 items. One of these – the manila clam – is already available in the game.

There is, of course, no guarantee that this stuff will ever see the light of day- it’s not uncommon for developers to add preliminary data to a game’s code for features that never end up materializing, so this is by no means confirmation of any sort that these are things Nintendo will be adding to the game. It is, however, evidence that they have at least given some thought to it, to the extent of making some preparations should they end up doing so.

If this stuff is in the pipeline, when it comes to the game remains to be seen. Not too long ago, the developers admitted that DLC plans might be delayed because of the ongoing pandemic. It is, however, possible that all (or at least some) of this stuff is added in the upcoming Earth Day update. Either way, we’ll keep you updated, so stay tuned.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is currently available for the Nintendo Switch. Read our review through here.