Animal Crossing: New Horizons Major New Update Has Dropped Early

Animal Crossing: New Horizons' last major free update, as detailed in October's Animal Crossing Direct, is live now--almost two days before it was originally scheduled to drop. While the 2.0 update was meant to arrive on November 5, the new content is now available to download for the Switch game.

The early update was reported across social media, when players received a surprise prompt to update the game after logging in. While the update wasn't loading automatically for all players, fans quickly found that it could be forced to load by pressing the + button while Animal Crossing was selected in the main menu, then selecting the update option.

The 2.0 update includes a number of new gameplay features, as well as expanding the ones already in the game. Probably the biggest new addition is the return of The Roost coffee shop, which will be opened up inside the Museum and once again will be run by Brewster. Like in other Animal Crossing games, players will be able to purchase coffee for 200 bells a cup, and will have the chance to encounter various characters in the space.

Other new content added with the update includes the return of old favorites like Gyroids and Kapp'n, along with new customization options both inside and outside of players homes. Check out the full rundown on what's new here.

Interestingly, Nintendo hasn't said anything officially about the early update, with the most recent tweets from the official Animal Crossing Twitter account simply offering more details about the upcoming Happy Home Paradise paid expansion.

The paid DLC doesn't appear to be available early either, despite having the same planned November 5 release date as the 2.0 update. The $25 expansion is still listed for pre-load in the eShop, but is not yet accessible.