Where to get 'Animal Crossing' on sale ahead of its 2 huge updates

NelsonG · October 15, 2021

SAVE $10.04: Animal Crossing: New Horizons is on sale at Walmart for just $49.94 as of Oct. 15. It normally sells for $59.99, so this saves you 17%.

That Animal Crossing Direct was a doozy, indeedaroo.

Nintendo held a special livestream Friday to announce a ton of new content for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, its bestselling island-tending game, starting with a free version 2.0 update. Available on Nov. 5 for anyone who already owns the game, the expansion will add items and characters fans have been requesting ever since launch — Brewster! Gyroids! Expanded storage! More bridges! Cooking! The MF Froggy Chair!!! — along with a plethora of new exterior and interior customization options.

As if that weren't enough, Nintendo also gave us our first look at Happy Home Paradise, a new paid DLC update for New Horizons that lets players ~~make Tom Nook even richer~~ jet off to an archipelago to design villagers' dream homes. Priced at $24.99, it's scheduled to drop on Nov. 5 as well, with preorders opening up on Oct. 29. (You can also get it as part of a new Nintendo Switch Online subscription tier that bundles the DLC with Nintendo 64 games and Sega Genesis games — more info here.)

These mark the game's first major content updates since March, when Nintendo added some Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary-themed items and upgraded the Custom Designs app. They'll also be its last: Nintendo confirmed to our pals over at IGN that it will only be supporting the game with small changes following their rollout. (Insert "Sadness" emote here.)

Haven't picked up the base game yet? The last time we checked, it was on sale at Walmart for just $49.94 (or 17% off its usual retail price of $59.99); just add it to your cart to seal the deal. If it sells out there or jumps up a few bucks — it was fluctuating between $49.94 and $54.10 at the time of writing — try Amazon or Best Buy, where it's currently marked down to $50.99.