Animal Crossing: New Horizons is not only getting a free version 2.0 update that brings with it the arrival of Brewster and his coffee shop The Roost, Gyroids, island ordinances, and cooking, but it is also receiving a paid DLC called Happy Home Paradise that will let you design villager's dream homes on a brand new archipelago.
Announced in an Animal Crossing Direct, both of these DLCs will be available on November 5, 2021, and Happy Home Paradise! will cost $24.99 USD. However, it will be included at no extra cost for those who are subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Free Version 2.0 Update Adds Brewster and The Roost, Gyroids, and Other Fan-Favorite Villagers
As previously mentioned, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' version 2.0 update will see the long-awaited arrival of Brewster and his coffee shop The Roost. This new shop is part of the museum and will let players enjoy fresh-brewed coffee alone or with some friends. The villagers on your island will come to the shop as well, and you can invite specific villagers via amiibo cards or figures.
Long-time fans of Animal Crossing will be happy to know that Brewster isn't the only returning villager who is part of this update, as it will also see such others as Kapp'n, Katrina, Tortimer, Harriet, Wardell, and more make their way to New Horizons.
Kapp'n and his beautiful voice will invite you on his boat for a journey to various new and mysterious islands that only he knows of. Each could have a different season, time of day, or weather than your own island, and many will have "mysterious flora" and other surprises.
As for the other villagers, these wonderful animals will be found on Harv's Island, which is also getting a big upgrade. His island will be the home to a new plaza that features all sorts of shops waiting to be built with the right amount of Bells. Once built, familiar merchants like Sahara, Kicks, Reese, and Cyrus will open up a new place to do business alongside returning favorites like Katrina and her fortune shop, Harriet and her hair-styling shop (with new hair styles!), and Tortimer and his storage solution.
Your Island will also get some new activities like Group Stretching at the plaza. This is an activity you can do with your fellow villagers or friends, and the stretching can be done with buttons or by using motion controls.
Island Ordinances are also being added, and they will let you enact such changes to your island like keeping shops open later or increasing the number of Bells you receive when selling items. The full list of ordinances includes the Beautiful Island Ordinance, Early Bird Ordinance, Night Owl Ordinance, and Bell Boom Ordinance.
Players will also be able to change the exterior look of their home, home storage has been expanded from 2,400 to 5,000, and lighting and ceiling decor can now be added to house interiors with a new Pro Decorating License. Nine new fence options are being added, players can add two more bridges or inclines to their island, and ABDs (Animal Crossing's ATMs) and storage sheds can be placed most anywhere on an island to give easy access to Bells and your items.
Those who love cooking are in for a treat as players will be able to combine ingredients to make meals like Minestrone or Pizza to display on any table or serve at a feast. Ingredients like tomatoes, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, and carrots can also be grown to use in recipes!
Gyroids are another big addition in version 2.0 and can now be found on player's islands. Players will be able to find Gyroid fragments underground and, when planted and watered, they will turn into a Gyroid overnight. There are many types of Gyroids and many come with a unique look, sound, and animation. They can also be customized.
Other updates include an update to the Pro Camera App that lets players take photos from eye-level view, 11 new reactions, 12 more songs from K.K. Slider, new permanent ladder kits to place around the island, the ability to navigate tight spaces in your home, the apparent addition of Froggy Chair (!), and much more.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' version 2.0 update will be the final major free update for the game that was released in March 2020.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise Paid DLC Lets You Build Villager's Dream Homes
Alongside Animal Crossing: New Horizon's version 2.0 update, November 5 will also see the release of the paid Happy Home Paradise DLC for players who wish to spend $24.99 USD or who are subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.
Happy Home Paradise can be accessed by flying from the island's airport to a new archipelago that is the home to Paradise Planning. This company's mission is to build the dream vacation homes for villagers around the world and they need your help.
There will be characters on the island that will have various requests, including one who loves mushrooms, another who loves arcades, and yet another who loves teddy bears. Once you accept a request, you will be able to pick an island that suits their style, and can pick the weather, time of day, and season to also help fit the mood.
There will be designated furniture and items that need to be used, but an ever-expanding catalog of items will also be available to help complete the home's interior and exterior. The homes can be moved around, trees, fencing, and paths can be added to the yard, lighting and accent walls can be added, and much more.
As you complete more and more requests, you will unlock more techniques that will let you improve your designs. These include different colored lighting, the ability to modify a home's width of length, the use of partition walls, the option to add pillars that support the ceiling and counters with different heights, soundscapes, and furniture polishing. Polishing will add certain effects to furniture like sparkling stars or flying butterflies.
As you learn these new techniques, you will be able to revisit old homes you've worked on to remodel them and utilize any skills you've unlocked.
You will also be compensated for your work in Happy Home Paradise with Poki. This currency can be traded in for rare items that can only be found on this archipelago but can be brought home with you. Speaking of home, all the techniques you've learned – except for expanding the size of houses or rooms – can be used on your own home. Furthermore, the ability to remodel your neighbors' houses can also be unlocked. If you wish, you can even design a dream home for one of your favorite neighbors on the archipelago.
amiibo figures and cards can be used to invite clients of your choosing to Paradise Planning so you can build their dream homes as well. This means you can design homes for Isabelle, Timmy and Tommy, and many more. Speaking of amiibo cards, Animal Crossing Series 5 amiibo cards will also be launching on November 5 with 48 characters total.
That's not all, however, as the island Paradise Planning is located on has various facilities that are just waiting to be designed. This means you can also design your own school, hospital, restaurant, and more.
Everything you design will be recorded in the new Happy Home Network App on your NookPhone. From there, you can keep track of what you've done, share your work with others, or follow other creators for inspiration.
If you aren't ready to purchase Happy Home Paradise, friends are able to gift items acquired on the new archipelago to those who don't have the DLC. Also, many of the new techniques that are featured in Happy Home Paradise, including adding ceiling decor, lighting, accent walls, and using patterns for flooring and wallpaper are available to all as part of the Version 2.0 update.
The Beginning of the End for Animal Crossing: New Horizons
While Animal Crossing: New Horizons will continue to live on for many years to come with its seasonal events and the ever-evolving lives of the player and the villagers who call the island home, Nintendo has no more plans to add anything major to the game following the version 2.0 update and the Happy Home Paradise paid DLC.
Happy Home Paradise! will be the first and only paid DLC expansion for the game and will hopefully add countless hours of enjoyment for the latest entry in the long-running franchise that has sold over 33 million units since its launch in 2020.
Since then, Animal Crossing fans have participated in the infamous Bunny Day event, have seen the addition of ocean swimming, Dream Islands, fireworks, Mario-themed items, and so much more.
It will also forever be remembered as a game that helped many through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic by giving them an opportunity to hang out with friends and loved ones while quarantined from the actual world.
If all of these updates sound like something you'd like to try and you have or are planning on purchasing the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, be sure to check out our guide so you can safely transfer your Island and all its data to your new system.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.