Animal Crossing: New Horizons Announces Next Free Update

Nintendo has announced with a new trailer that the next free update for the popular video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch will arrive later this week on January 28th. By and large, the update seems to support a new upcoming event, Festivale, which will be “filled with dancing and flying feathers” according to the company.

The Festivale Event is set to kick off on February 15th, and Pavé, a dancing peacock, will set up in players’ plazas to bring a little bit of the carnival to the video game. Players will be able to collect feathers around their islands and trade them in for what Nintendo describes as “a passionate dance number in return.” Additionally, Festivale clothing and new seasonal items will be available in the title beginning February 1st.

As for what folks will be able to pick up immediately once the update drops, it sounds like the new Festivale Reaction set — including Feelin’ It, Let’s Go, Viva, and Confetti — will be available for purchase through Nook’s Cranny. While some of the new seasonal items appear to be specific to Festivale, today’s announcement also notes that certain items will be available throughout January and February for Groundhog Day and “Big Game Celebration,” the latter of which almost certainly has to be a reference to the Super Bowl.

As noted above, the new free update is set to release January 28th. Animal Crossing: New Horizons itself is currently available for the Nintendo Switch. It continues to receive regular updates, including some fairly significant additions back in December. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the Animal Crossing franchise right here.

Are you excited about the latest Animal Crossing: New Horizons content? What do you think of the new event? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk about all things gaming!