Animal Crossing: New Horizons Version 3.0.0 is a free update for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, released January 14, 2026. It adds a hotel, Resetti’s cleanup service, Slumber Islands, collaboration items and quality-of-life changes. A separate paid Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade adds hardware-specific features.
What’s new in the Animal Crossing 3.0 update?
The free Version 3.0 update adds new activities and conveniences to the base game. Nintendo’s overview covers the hotel, island cleanup, expanded home storage, Slumber Islands and collaborations; the update history lists additional crafting and ordering improvements.
Resort Hotel on the pier
Kapp’n’s family runs a new hotel on the pier. You can help attract guests by decorating guest rooms, using mannequins to display outfits for visitors, and visiting the souvenir shop for new furniture and clothing. Nintendo’s announcement describes the hotel as a new place to decorate and bring guests to your island.
Resetti’s Reset Service
Resetti can tidy a selected area or the whole island. The service can also clear flowers or custom designs and send them to storage, offering a faster way to reclaim space than removing things one by one.
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- Build your own paradise as you explore, create, and customize in the Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition game.
- Switch 2 Edition: This game is the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. It includes the Nintendo Switch game plus upgrade pack, which includes enhancements for play on Nintendo Switch 2 system.
- Upgrade: You can purchase a Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade pack for this game (full version of game required to use this content; sold separately).
- If you and your friends all have the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, you can share your island in 12-player sessions online*—and with CameraPlay and GameChat** support, you can see and hear their reactions in real time!
Expanded home storage
Home storage can hold up to 9,000 items, and the expanded storage can include trees, shrubs and flowers. The 9,000-item limit is the figure Nintendo published in its announcement; it is a maximum, not a promise that every player’s existing storage starts at that capacity.
More crafting and ordering options
Version 3.0.0 lets you craft up to 10 of the same item at once when you have enough materials. You can use materials held in home storage for DIY crafting, and a new DIY Recipes page collects requests for the hotel and Tom Nook. Other listed changes include ordering up to 50 Customization Kits at once, ordering linked Pocket Camp items without repeatedly linking, and ordering Super Mario Bros. items without linking a Nintendo Account. These features and limits are documented in Nintendo’s update history.
How do Slumber Islands work?
Slumber Islands are separate places to build and decorate, rather than another version of your main island. Players can create up to three, choose an island size and layout, terraform, and decorate using items they have already obtained. You can also invite residents from your home island and play online with friends.
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![Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - Nintendo Switch 2 [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51rX1kI2JnL._SL160_.jpg)
- Build your community from scratch on a deserted island brimming with possibility; Create your personal getaway and customize your character, home, decorations, and even the landscape itself
- Collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools. Then, use what you create to give your island a personal touch
- Watch as the time of day and seasons match real life—even your hemisphere. Each day holds potential for surprises and discoveries
- Get to know the island residents, garden, fish, decorate, hunt for fossils, and more.
- Show off your paradise – Play on the same system with a total of 4 people, or play together online or over local wireless for fun with up to 8 players
Nintendo says that picking up or placing items on a Slumber Island does not change your real inventory or home storage. This makes the islands a separate creative space rather than a way to transfer or duplicate items.
Prerequisites to visit
According to Nintendo Support’s Slumber Island instructions, you need an active Nintendo Switch Online membership and persistent internet connection, a three-star island rating, an upgraded home (not a tent), a bed, and attendance at your first K.K. Slider concert.
For the first visit, remove any wand transformation, close your island gates and begin alone. After you meet the first-time conditions, Luna sends a letter the following day. Nintendo Switch Online is therefore a requirement for Slumber Islands, not for the free update as a whole.
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- Build your community from scratch on a deserted island brimming with possibility; Create your personal getaway and customize your character, home, decorations, and even the landscape itself
- Collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools. Then, use what you create to give your island a personal touch
- Watch as the time of day and seasons match real life—even your hemisphere. Each day holds potential for surprises and discoveries
- Get to know the island residents, garden, fish, decorate, hunt for fossils, and more.
- Show off your paradise – Play on the same system with a total of 4 people, or play together online or over local wireless for fun with up to 8 players
Which new villagers can you get?
The collaboration content includes LEGO items, retro Nintendo items and themed content tied to selected Zelda and Splatoon amiibo. Compatible amiibo can unlock themed items and allow certain characters to be invited. Nintendo’s announcement does not establish a complete list of newly added villagers, so it is safer to treat this as selective character and item compatibility rather than a broad new villager roster. Check the compatibility of a specific amiibo before buying it for this purpose.
Do you need a Switch 2 for the 3.0 update?
No. The free Version 3.0 content is available in both the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 versions of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The Switch 2 Edition is a separate paid upgrade for owners who want enhancements that use Switch 2 hardware.
| Feature | Free Version 3.0 update | Nintendo Switch 2 Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel, Resetti’s service, storage expansion, Slumber Islands and collaborations | Included on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 | Included; these are not exclusive to the paid edition |
| Improved resolution | Not listed as a free-update feature | Up to 4K in TV mode with a compatible display |
| Mouse controls | Not listed as a free-update feature | Right Joy-Con 2 can be used for mouse controls |
| Megaphone | Not listed as a free-update feature | Uses the system microphone |
| Online player limit | Not stated for the free update in Nintendo’s announcement | Sessions can include up to 12 players when everyone is using the Switch 2 Edition |
| CameraPlay | Not listed as a free-update feature | Supports a compatible USB camera |
The resolution, player-count and camera details are Nintendo’s descriptions of Switch 2 Edition features. CameraPlay and online play have additional hardware or membership requirements; consult Nintendo’s current local terms for compatibility and eligibility. The announcement does not provide a price to quote here.
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- Included is the following: Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch 2, 8 pack of PremGear Thumb Grips: 2 different heights (3mm, 7mm) 3 different colors. (Joystick Cap Covers Compatible with Nintendo Switch 2 only), PremGear 24 Slot Game card Case/Holder with 2 Slot MicroSD Memory Card Adapter and PremGear Quality Cleaning Cloth
- Escape to a deserted island…now enhanced for the Nintendo Switch 2 system! Build your own paradise as you explore, create, and customize in the Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition game
- NEW FEATURES: Enhanced resolution, faster load times, mouse control support for faster and easier decorating, a megaphone for calling your animal residents that uses the system microphone, and more
- Show your island to family and friends—or create together on Slumber Island (with membership) Host friends on your island utopia or pack your bags and visit theirs. Whether playing online* or with others beside you***, island living is even better when you can share it—and with a Nintendo Switch Online membership, you can also visit Slumber Island to terraform, build, and decorate with friends and family in a shared dreamscape
- Your island, clearer than ever With the enhanced 4K resolution of the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, you’ll be able to see your island and its residents even clearer than before! Get creative with mouse controls Use the intuitive mouse controls of the Joy-Con 2 controller to redecorate your home, organise your furniture, create Custom Designs and even draw posts for the bulletin board
When did Version 3.0 release, and what has been patched?
Nintendo Support records Version 3.0.0 as released on January 14, 2026. Nintendo’s earlier announcement had planned January 15, so the support history gives the actual release date.
The support history also documents later fixes. Version 3.0.1, released February 18, 2026, addressed slower performance after leaving the hotel, Resetti cleanup problems and issues with remodeling or relocating houses on Slumber Islands. Version 3.0.2, released April 13, 2026, added a 25th-anniversary item and fixed issues including leaving hotel rooms, crafting behavior, Slumber Island custom designs and villagers appearing in unnatural locations when visiting a player’s home.
Nintendo’s support page also displays general changes above its 3.0.2 history without a visible version heading or date for that entry. For that reason, 3.0.2 is a documented patch, but it should not be treated as a confirmed latest version as of October 2026; check the live update history for the current version.
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