The New Animal Crossing Game Is Out Now, Earlier Than Expected

Nintendo's latest mobile game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, is available now worldwide on both iOS and Android. That's a day ahead of its intended release date, November 22.

Be warned: although the game is live on the App Store and Google Play, some players are reporting its servers as being unstable right now, with with occasional connection errors. (Pocket Camp requires an internet connection to work.) Things seem to have improved in the past few hours, however.

The game's design, sound, and overall gameplay will be familiar to anyone's who's played the full-fledged entires in the series, and there'll be an assortment of returning activities and mechanics. In addition to customizing your character and your living area (in this case, an RV camper), you'll also lay out furniture and themed items across the game's campground setting. There'll be a real-time day/night cycle, and you'll have the ability to visit shops run by the regular game cast to purchase new clothing and furniture to customize your personal space. And it wouldn't be an Animal Crossing game without the ability to go into deep debt. Instead of Tom Nook, however, Pocket Camp has OK Motors, where you can purchase major upgrades that expand your RV's interior and allow you to trick out your in-game camper.

Pocket Camp is free on iOS and Android, though it does contain microtransactions; you can spend real money to purchase "Leaf Tickets" to speed up your progress. These can also be acquired through gameplay.

Pocket Camp was initially due out sooner, but Nintendo delayed it to make room for Fire Emblem Heroes and Super Mario Run. Now it's out however, Pocket Camp will receive regular content updates, including "seasonal events" along with furniture and outfit items that you can get for a limited time.