To start a new island, open Animal Crossing: New Horizons and choose the option to begin as the first resident. Then create your character, pick a hemisphere and island layout, travel to the island, set up your tent, choose an island name, and finish the first night by sleeping in your tent. Before confirming, decide carefully who will be the first resident: that player becomes the island’s Resident Representative, and the role cannot be reassigned.
Start a new island step by step
These steps apply when creating the island save for a Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch system. Nintendo’s full setup guide is How to Start a New Game.
- Choose the first-resident option. Launch the game and select the option to start a new island as the first resident. If an island already exists on this system and you want to live there, choose the option to join as an additional resident instead.
- Create your character. Enter and confirm your name and birthday. Neither can be changed after confirmation. Choose a starting style and customize your appearance; Nintendo says the starting style does not restrict which character features you can use, and appearance can be changed later after some play.
- Choose a region and hemisphere. Pick the hemisphere you want for your island’s seasonal calendar. Northern and Southern Hemisphere seasons are reversed.
- Select a layout and fly to the island. Choose from the island layouts offered during setup, answer Timmy and Tommy’s remaining question, and board the plane.
- Set up your tent and campfire. After landing, follow the directions to the plaza and speak with Tom Nook. Place your tent, then help build the campfire.
- Name the island. Enter and confirm its name. The name is permanent, and other players can see it during local or online multiplayer. Nintendo advises against offensive or personally identifying names.
- Finish the first night. Speak with Tom Nook again to get a cot, place it in your tent, and go to sleep. In the morning, talk to Tom Nook for more items and information.
Choose the first resident with care
The first player to start the game and move to the island becomes its Resident Representative. Nintendo says that role cannot be reassigned, and some island milestones can only be completed by the representative. If several people will share the island, have the person who should hold that permanent role start the game first. Read Nintendo’s Resident Representative guidance before beginning if you are unsure.
Can you have more than one island on a Switch?
No. Nintendo’s support FAQ states that a Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch system can have only one island save, even if you use multiple copies of the game. Up to eight players can live on that island. A separate system is needed to create a separate home island. See Nintendo’s Save Data and Multiplayer Support FAQ.
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- Share Your Paradise - Show off your island utopia to family and friends - or pack your bags and visit theirs.
- Get Building - Experience a robust new crafting system - collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools!
- Create Your Perfect Getaway - Craft everything from tools to creature comforts as you create and customize your island community.
- Explore Your Island - Collect bugs, decorate your paradise throughout the day, or enjoy sunset on the beach while fishing in the ocean.
- Play Together - Up to eight players can reside on an island; four residents of the same island can play together simultaneously on a single system.
The FAQ also describes a separate feature: after updating to version 3.0.0 or later, Nintendo Switch Online members can create and save up to three online Slumber Islands for collaborative design. These are not additional persistent home islands on the console.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Starting over without losing an existing island
Do not treat starting a new game as a way to preserve an existing island on the same system: the one-island-per-system limit means a second game copy will not create another home island. Nintendo documents island transfer and backup options, but its cited setup instructions do not describe a reset procedure. If you want to keep existing progress, check Nintendo’s save-data transfer instructions and its backup guidance before changing or deleting save data.
Rank #2
![Animal Crossings New Horizons - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ErvUL40zL._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 island backup is not enabled by default. Its FAQ says enabling backup requires an active Nintendo Switch Online membership and a resident account on the island. A current Resident Representative cannot move individually to another console: Nintendo’s transfer guidance requires transferring the whole island to move that representative. Other residents can move individually to an island on another console.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
![Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51JAzQozLgL._SL160_.jpg)
- Take in-game photos of your designs and add them to your portfolio. Show them to other characters and you may get more requests to create vacation homes. Share the photos with other players using the in-game Showroom in the Happy Home Network app and they can tour your personally-designed resort islands or go tour theirs for some relaxation and inspiration.
- Purchase the Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC from Nintendo eShop, or download and play it as part of an active Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pack membership at no extra cost.
Rank #3
- To be updated
- To be updated
- To be updated
Choose the right path
| What you want to do | Choose this path |
|---|---|
| Create the island save for this system | Start as the first resident; that player becomes Resident Representative. |
| Join an island already on this system | Choose the additional-resident option instead of creating a new island. |
| Move the Resident Representative to another console | Transfer the whole island; an individual resident move is not available for the representative. |
| Make a collaborative design space | Use an online Slumber Island if the version and Nintendo Switch Online conditions in Nintendo’s FAQ apply; it is not a second home island. |
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