Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0 update is live — Everything you need to know

Surprise! Nintendo has done a sneaky and set its massive 2.0 update of Animal Crossing live. The update was set to go live on November 5, but has gone up early. 

As the company revealed during its Animal Crossing Direct presentation on Oct. 15, this will be the game’s final major free update, but it will introduce a ton of new features and content to the popular Switch life sim — and it’s arriving alongside a paid DLC expansion that adds even more to do.

Returning characters

Among other things, the 2.0 update adds Brewster’s cafe, The Roost. The cafe will be located on the second floor of your island’s museum. You can grab a cup of coffee and even run into other islanders who are taking a break there. You can also invite specific characters to hang out in the cafe using Animal Crossing Amiibo figures and cards.

Brewster isn’t the only character returning to the game. Following the 2.0 update, you’ll encounter Kapp’n at your island’s pier. Kapp’n can take you on boat tours, ferrying you to mysterious islands with new flora or a different season or time of day. Of course, Kapp’n will also sing his trademark sea shanties during the voyage.

Harv’s Island is also undergoing some significant changes. Harv is working with Harriet, the hairstylist from previous Animal Crossing games, to expand the island into a plaza. You can contribute bells to help them fund various new buildings, including permanent shops for Saharah, Kicks and other characters. Katrina the fortune teller and Tortimer, the mayor from previous games, are also returning, as are Reese and Cyrus. The alpaca couple will be able to customize furniture for you.

New features

The 2.0 update is also introducing a variety of new features and items. Using a new tape deck in the plaza, you and the other islanders can now partake in some stretching, similar to the morning aerobics that took place during the summer months in the original Animal Crossing game for the Nintendo GameCube. You can perform the stretches using either buttons or motion controls.

Island ordinances from Animal Crossing: New Leaf are also returning. You can choose an ordinance to further tailor the experience to your play style. The Early Bird ordinance, for instance, makes all islanders active earlier in the day than they normally are.

The game’s camera function is being expanded, as well. With the new Pro Camera NookPhone app, you can view your island from a first-person perspective and snap photos of villagers and the scenery. You can also set down a tripod so that your character can appear in these photos.

On top of that, villager interactions are being expanded. Your islanders can now invite you over to their homes to hang out, and they can even drop by for a surprise visit at your house.

New items and customization

Nintendo is also introducing a ton of new items and customization options in the 2.0 update. Tom Nook will be able to remodel your home with a variety of new exteriors. There will be an assortment of new fence types as well, and you’ll even be able to customize some of them. On top of that, there are new cooking DIY recipes. You can plant vegetables like tomatoes, carrots and more and use those ingredients to create dishes like soup and pizza.

If you’ve accumulated a ton of Nook Miles, you’ll soon be able to redeem those for new furniture, including new types of fountains, streetlights and more. Nintendo is also adding an outdoor storage shed that connects to your storage boxes back home, as well as an outdoor ABD terminal that lets you easily access your account without having to return to the Resident Services building.

K.K. Slider is expanding his set list, as well. The wandering musician will have 12 new songs to play following the update. Gyroids from previous games are also returning. You’ll be able to dig up gyroid fragments from the ground, which you can then plant and water to grow new gyroids. Additionally, Nintendo is adding 11 new gestures and 11 new hairstyles to the game, and you’ll now be able to customize the ceilings in your home with lights and other fixtures.

Happy Home Paradise paid DLC

Alongside the free 2.0 update, Nintendo is releasing a paid DLC expansion for Animal Crossing: New Horizons called Happy Home Paradise. Similar to the Happy Home Designer game for the Nintendo 3DS, this expansion lets you build dream vacation homes and other kinds of buildings for different villagers based on their requests.

The Happy Home Paradise DLC costs $25. It is also included for free as part of the new Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier. An individual subscription to the expanded service costs $50 per year, while an annual family plan — which covers up to eight different Nintendo accounts across multiple systems — costs $80.