Animal Crossing: New Horizons was completely absent from the E3 2021 Nintendo Direct, indicating that plans might be winding down for one of the company’s best-selling Switch games. This is despite many hoping that a substantial new update would be announced during the Direct, something which fans of the game have suggested has been sorely missing.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons new update misses E3 2021
Animal Crossing: New Horizons was strangely absent from E3 2021, despite the game being the second best-selling Switch title and one of its most frequently updated games. While ACNH has been criticized for its underwhelming updates thus far, it was hoped that E3 2021 would see the game turn over a new leaf (pardon the pun) and reveal something more substantial. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
While the Nintendo Direct at E3 2021 contained a bunch of other exciting announcements, from Breath of the Wild 2’s gameplay trailer to Metroid Dread and Mario Party Superstars, many were still disappointed by the absence of Animal Crossing. With the game having received a bunch of middling updates thus far, and still missing key features such as Brewster’s coffee shop, AC veterans were hoping for something more substantial this E3.
Fan reactions were a mixture of disappointment and self-awareness, considering Nintendo’s general attitude to Animal Crossing: New Horizons thus far has been to release underwhelming updates and provide little else:
https://twitter.com/utopiacrossinq/status/1404840652186132480
A live look at the ACNH community today: pic.twitter.com/lk2GR0ri9V
— Katie 🌿 (@KatieCozyway) June 15, 2021
me waiting for them to announce anything for ACNH😐 #NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/NnodfWmN5Y
— a n t a y a (@antayaxo) June 15, 2021
Still, there’s still a chance that Animal Crossing news could be round the corner. Nintendo predominantly focused on new games releasing this year and The Legend of Zelda news, with the company being known for holding separate Nintendo Direct presentations dedicated to specific games. It could be that a special Animal Crossing Direct is just around the corner. Or, it could be that Animal Crossing is set to exclusively receive minor updates from here on out until development ceases on the game altogether. You never quite know with Nintendo.
