Animal Crossing: New Horizons Was Nearly the UK's Best-Selling Physical Game in 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was easily one of 2020's biggest success stories, breaking sales records for the franchise. As such, it should come as little surprise that the title was the second best-selling physical game in the UK last year, losing out to FIFA 21. The Animal Crossing franchise has always been a niche one for Nintendo, but New Horizons propelled the series into the company's top-tier. The game's laidback atmosphere and customization options connected with players in a big way in 2020, earning it a spot on ComicBook.com's Games of the Year list.

That sales information comes from GamesIndustry.biz, but it's worth noting that UK software sales are not grouped by individual console, but rather units sold as a whole. If FIFA 21's sales were broken up by platform, Animal Crossing: New Horizons would take the top spot, while FIFA 21 on PlayStation 4 would come in at number two. Part of the game's financial success can likely also be attributed to the overall success of the Nintendo Switch platform, which has outsold every other console in North America for the last 24 months straight.

It will be interesting to see whether or not the success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons will continue into 2021. Switch games like Mario Kart 8: Deluxe have had surprising longevity, and it wouldn't be hard to imagine New Horizons continuing to sell well long after the game's release. Previous games in the Animal Crossing franchise have launched with all of the holiday content included in the game at the start, but Nintendo opted to release events in New Horizons as updates, instead. This stymied fans that enjoy "time-travelling" in the game, while also giving casual players an incentive to keep coming back. Now that nearly a year has passed since the game's release, most major holidays have been celebrated in-game, but Nintendo claims that it will continue to support New Horizons for the foreseeable future, which could go a long way towards bringing in more players. Considering how well the game performed last year, it's no wonder Isabelle was sad to see 2020 come to an end!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

Are you a fan of Animal Crossing: New Horizons? What do you think of the game's success? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!