Animal Crossing: New Horizons celebrates 1st anniversary with new update

The first anniversary of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is quickly approaching, and Nintendo has a sizable update lined up for the occasion. The update is landing later this week, and in addition to bringing a helping of spring seasonal items along with it, it will also be bringing some new in-game features as well. In fact, it seems that much of the update is centered around improvements to custom design features.

This new update is landing on March 18th and when it goes live, players will have a new upgrade to purchase with Nook Miles. The upgrade is for the Custom Design Pro Editor, which is available through the Nook Phone in-game. Once the upgrade is purchased, Nintendo says that players will have a "more robust set of features" at their disposal, and they'll be able to customize umbrellas, small flags, uchiwa, and photo stands (in addition to everything else that is customizable through the app already).

Nintendo is also adding 50 slots to both the Normal Custom Design and Pro Custom Design modes, giving players more space to store their designs. The update will also make the Custom Design Portal accessible through players' Nook Phones, so you no longer need to go to the Able Sisters store to check it out.

Of course, it's not a seasonal Animal Crossing update without seasonal items, and it seems we'll have plenty of those following this update. A collection of whoopee cushions will be available through the Nook Shopping app from March 26th until April 1st, while the Able Sisters will be offering a variety of prom-themed fashion items for the entire month of April. Just as well, Nook Shopping will have prom-themed decorative items, so it sounds like players will be able to go all-out with the prom items next month.

Players will also get a 1st Anniversary Cake in their mailbox after the update has been applied, so be sure to check for that. Additionally, this update coincides with the launch of the Sanrio Collaboration Pack, which will be available at Target for $5.99 beginning on March 26th. The Collaboration Pack comes with six amiibo cards that can be used to invite Sanrio-inspired characters to your island and purchase Sanrio-themed furniture.

On the horizon, we've also got the launch of the Island Tour Creator on March 23rd, which is an online tool that will be available until the end of the year and allow users to create posters and trailers for their islands using screenshots and captured footage. There's also a Build-A-Bear collaboration arriving in the future, but for now, we don't have a start date for that particular event. We'll let you know when Nintendo announces one, so stay tuned for more.