Animal Crossing: New Horizons Supports Local Co-op Multiplayer

Couch co-op multiplayer is finally coming to the Animal Crossing series with the latest game on Nintendo Switch. Shown off during the Treehouse presentation following the Nintendo E3 2019 showcase, players will be able to jump into the same game and play together for the first time in the franchise. By calling up a friend who has a house on your island you can play together on the same screen.

The series has had multiplayer before, but not quite like this. Players are in the same town, at the same time, and working together to accomplish goals. You can also do all of this one a single console, with the presenters splitting a pair of Joy-Con between themselves. Along with this came news on the weather system that’s built into the game.

One of the more unique features of the Animal Crossing series is its adherence to a real-time calendar that determines both holidays and the overall weather. If it’s December in the real-world then it’s December in your Animal Crossing town, and the weather will somewhat match, giving you cold weather in the Winter and warm in the Summer. But for those living in the real-world southern hemisphere, this has always been reversed due to the games defaulting to the north. That ends in the latest game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Confirmed on the E3 2019 Treehouse presentation of live gameplay, the new game will offer players the choice of living in the northern or southern hemisphere. For those who live in the south, this means the weather will now more closely match what you actually experience. As they explained on the presentation, the current weather for the northern hemisphere is the summer, but it is winter in the south. If you choose the southern hemisphere in Animal Crossing: New Horizons then that will now fit with your real-world experience.

It’s a small change and will only impact those who live to the south, but it’s nice to see. This will let players choose to have a more realistic experience in their Animal Crossing adventure. You’ll get to try it out for yourself when Animal Crossing: New Horizons arrives on Nintendo Switch on March 20th, 2020.