Animal Crossing’s huge version 2.0 update has released a day early
New Horizon’s last big update and Happy Home Paradise DLC were originally planned for November 5
Nintendo has released the much anticipated version 2.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons a day earlier than originally planned.
Originally scheduled for release on November 5, the patch – which will also be the game’s last major free content update – includes Brewster and his coffee shop the Roost, and fellow new character Kapp’n, who will take players to different islands on his boat, among other features.
The patch also arrives alongside Happy Home Paradise, the game’s first and only paid DLC expansion. This is available to download now but will still remain inactive until November 5.
Happy Home Paradise tasks players with helping characters acquire their dream vacation home on a new group of islands.
Priced at $24.99 / £22.49 and also available as part of a $49.99 / £34.99 Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, Happy Home Paradise isn’t a standalone product, so players will need to own a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons to get it.
The version 2.0 update should start downloading automatically when you next try to play the game, but to apply the Happy Home Paradise DLC you have to go to the Switch eShop and buy it there.
If you’re a Switch Online Expansion Pack member, you can visit the Switch Online section of the eShop and download the DLC there as part of your subscription. As the eShop says, the DLC’s planned release date is still November 5, though it can be pre-installed so it will activate when the game is started on that date.
“The free update launching on Nov. 5 will be the last major free content update,” a Nintendo spokesperson told IGN earlier this week. “We hope that players will continue enjoying their island life in real time and throughout the changing seasons.”
Further reading
Happy Home Paradise will be Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ only paid DLC
Animal Crossing: New Horizons released in March 2020 and as of this September it had shipped 34.85 million copies, making its Switch’s second best-selling game.
April 2017 release Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tops the Switch software sales rankings (38.74 million), while December 2018 release Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (25.71 million) is in third place.
