Here's what happens to your Animal Crossing: New Horizons DLC if you stop paying for Nintendo Switch Online

By Sam Loveridge
published

Stop subscribing and you won't risk all your acquired skills

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise DLC, the first paid DLC drop for the game
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Players will only be able to access some of the Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise DLC if they stop paying for the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack

The first paid-for DLC was announced as part of today's Nintendo Direct, and can be purchased independently or be obtained as part of the new Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership tier. 

But, this has raised questions about what would happen to your DLC access if you were to stop subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. 

Happy Home Paradise will see players traveling to a new archipelago to become a Paradise Planner, creating vacation homes for various characters by picking a plot of land and then designing the interior and exterior to their specific tastes. 

But, there are a lot of skills and features you can obtain by playing the DLC that you can then utilize on your home Animal Crossing: New Horizons island, which has raised concerns if a player were to lose access to the DLC obtained through Nintendo Switch Online.

However, Nintendo has clarified what will happens to your access to those features of the Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise DLC if you stop paying for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack:

"Players can still continue to access certain things they have unlocked in Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise on their main island, including adding counters, partition walls, as well as adding ambient lighting and soundscapes, even if their access to Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise is suspended."

"However, it will not be possible to visit the archipelago if players lose access to the DLC. To be able to visit the archipelago and take on requests of designing vacation homes again, you will need to purchase the DLC separately or renew the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership."

Happy Home Paradise, along with the major free Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update 2.0, will drop on November 5. 

For now, here are our top Animal Crossing: New Horizons tips. 

Sam Loveridge
Sam Loveridge
Global Editor-in-Chief, GamesRadar+

Sam Loveridge is the Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar, and joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.