Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the series' best-selling entry with 26 million copies shifted

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold just over 26 million copies as of September 2020, making it the most successful entry in the series so far.

The impressive amount of sales was listed in Nintendo's recent release of financial data. To put that figure into perspective, New Horizons has now sold more than twice as many copies as its 3DS predecessor, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which sold 12.82 million copies. In terms of Switch titles, the latest Animal Crossing adventure still holds the spot as the second best-selling game on Nintendo's console. Second only to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, New Horizons has overtaken the likes of some of Nintendo's biggest titles, including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Pokemon Sword and Shield, and Super Mario Odyssey.

Given that time has lost all meaning, it's hard to believe New Horizons launched this year back in March. The release came just when people around the world needed it most, and it quickly became the fast-selling Switch game to date in the UK, as well as officially earning the "best start" of any Switch game. As of June 2020, New Horizons had racked up 22.40 million copies sold, meaning that the game has continued to sell 4 million copies in the span of 3 months since the last financial report.

The success of the game isn't so surprising when you take into account the fact that it can be used as a platform for players around the world to connect virtually when they otherwise can't. From weddings and birthdays, to global pride and Halloween, the sandy shores of players islands have been home to so much creativity. For me personally, the fuzzy inhabitants of Animal Crossing have continued to provide comfort and little pockets of joy in my day-to-day, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. As the seasons pass, the appeal of the game also continues, with events and updates giving islands a new lease of life.

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Heather Wald is the Evergreen Editor, Games at GamesRadar+. Her writing career began on a student-led magazine at Bath Spa University, where she earned a BA (Hons) in English literature. Heather landed her first role writing about tech and games for Stuff Magazine shortly after graduating with an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University. Now with almost seven years of experience working with GamesRadar+ on the features team, Heather helps to develop, maintain, and expand the evergreen features that exist on the site for games, as well as spearhead the Indie Spotlight series. You'll also see her contribute op-eds, interview-led features, and more. In her spare time, you'll likely find Heather tucking into RPGs and indie games, reading romance novels, and drinking lots of tea.