Animal Crossing: New Horizons Will Let You Back Up Save Data After All--Under Certain Conditions

Animal Crossing: New Horizons arrives on Nintendo Switch next month, but like other entries in the series, it has some unusual save data restrictions. The game only allows one unique island per Nintendo Switch console, and it's one of the few Switch titles that does not support cloud save backups. However, Nintendo is looking into a way for players to back up their save data after all.

According to Nintendo's UK website, the company will give Animal Crossing: New Horizons players some way to recover their save data if something were to happen to their Switch. Nintendo hasn't announced a time frame for when this save backup function would be made available, only that it will roll out "sometime in the future" and be exclusive to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. You can read the full statement below:

"This game does not support the Save Data Cloud functionality of Nintendo Switch Online. However, the ability to recover Animal Crossing: New Horizons save data from the server in the event of console failure, loss or theft will be available to Nintendo Switch Online members sometime in the future."

We first heard that Animal Crossing: New Horizons would not use Switch Online's standard cloud save backup feature back at E3 2019. According to game producer Higashi Nogami, the reason for this is to prevent players from manipulating time in the game, thereby cheating.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons launches for Nintendo Switch on March 20. The week before the game arrives, Nintendo will release a special Animal Crossing-themed Switch console, but it is currently sold out at all major retailers. Nintendo will also sell the Animal Crossing-themed Joy-Cons and dock separately in Japan, but there's no word if they will also be available in other markets.

A number of pre-order bonuses have been announced for the game; you can check them out in our Animal Crossing: New Horizons pre-order guide. We've also rounded up all the best New Horizons Switch accessories, controllers, Amiibo, and more.