Familiar faces and a significant farming gameplay addition may come to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, according to data miners.
After ripping the game’s data onto a computer, reputable data miner Ninji has come to some exciting conclusions. Coding spotted in the recent 1.1.4 update suggests that the developer will allow players to grow vegetables and see the return of old favorites such as Redd and Brewster.
Nintendo has laid the groundwork to potentially add in farming in a future update. A first in the series, New Horizons data in the new updates reveals the ability to plant tomatoes, wheat, sugar cane, potatoes, carrots, and pumpkins. Previously, Animal Crossing has only featured fruit growing on trees.
Growing vegetables remains mysterious, as it’s unknown how seeds are obtained and if they have to be planted during certain seasons. The game’s code says that players will have to pluck the food they grow. Several in-game prompts allude to this function, such as “I won’t have room for this in my pockets if I pluck it, so I’ll just leave it the way it is,” but purposefully don’t appear in the current version. It’s not known if vegetables will rot after a period of time, such as how turnips do.
Other data hints at the reintroduction including diving underwater to collect items and creatures, which was introduced in New Leaf and requires a wet suit. Ninji uncovered a new set of fish acquired from diving and 33 items listed under a “seafood” page in the game’s Critterpedia, which includes the already-available manilla clam. There is already an area in New Horizons’ save data set aside for these potential new animals, so fan speculation is only increased by the new development.
Redd, the shady fox who hawks both legit art and forgeries and sometimes rare furniture, is said to have a ship that will dock at each island’s secret beach. While much information is still unknown, the data suggests the fake art game mechanic will return. Ninji claims the museum will feature both art and gyroids, which past data mines have also uncovered, in a new display room and café.
For villagers with a green thumb, bushes may also return. There are files referring to six types of flora: Azalea, hibiscus, holly, hydrangea, camellia, and osmanthus. Also spotted are assets that allude to a third upgrade for Nook’s Cranny and several shop interfaces for gardening, real estate, art galleries, and the museum.
With all unused data found in a game, it’s possible that these features won’t ever arrive in an update. However, in-game characters do mention both Brewster, who has run the café in past titles, and art in the museum.
did fang just leak the art dlc #AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/eKJxX9lobo
— 🐈⬛ (@sylvidia) April 6, 2020
Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ next major update will arrive later this month and introduce an Earth Day event.
