Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Best 3.0 Feature Isn’t What You Think It Is

It’s been a long time since Animal Crossing: New Horizons received its major 2.0 update, and subsequent patches only fixed bugs and improved performance, leading many to believe the game was no longer being developed. However, Nintendo surprised everyone by announcing both a version for the Switch 2 and a huge 3.0 update. The Switch 2 version will offer improved graphics, support up to 12 players, include mouse controls using the Joy-Cons, and a new megaphone item to summon villagers. But it’s the 3.0 update that’s generating the most excitement.

It’s no surprise everyone is excited about the big 3.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons – it adds a ton of new content! The update introduces a hotel run by Kapp’n’s family, letting you invite new Villagers to stay. Mr. Resetti gets a bigger role, helping you tidy up your island, and there are new collaborations planned with LEGO, Zelda, and Splatoon. You can also unlock Slumber Islands – three extra islands to decorate with friends. But despite all these exciting features, it’s a surprisingly simple addition – the ability to craft multiple items at once – that’s proving to be the most popular improvement.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons ‘Craft Multiple’ Mechanic is 5 Years Overdo

For a long time, Animal Crossing: New Horizons players have been asking Nintendo to let them craft multiple copies of items at once. Many similar games, like Hello Kitty: Island Adventure and Palia, already have this feature, but it remained missing from Animal Crossing even after major updates like version 2.0. It seemed like this convenient addition might never happen. Thankfully, Nintendo is finally adding this feature in update 3.0, which will be released on January 15, 2026, allowing players to choose how many of each item they want to make.

It might seem minor, but crafting items one at a time in Animal Crossing: New Horizons was surprisingly time-consuming. Since players do a lot of crafting, especially when they need many of the same item – like the fishing bait needed to catch all the fish – it could become a real chore. This was so frustrating that players started buying bait from each other on Nookazon, using a lot of Bells and Nook Miles Tickets to avoid crafting it themselves. Luckily, a new update will soon let players craft multiple items at once, saving them a lot of effort!

The upcoming update to Animal Crossing: New Horizons will not only add multi-crafting, but also significantly expand storage space. It’s increasing from 5,000 slots to 9,000 to make room for storing trees, shrubs, and flowers – something players couldn’t do before.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Bigger Additions Have Drawbacks Multi-Craft Doesn’t

Quality-of-life improvements are always welcome for all players, but new content isn’t always a hit with everyone. Take the upcoming hotel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, for example. While it sounds fun, long-time fans might feel like they’ve already experienced it. Designing and decorating rooms to attract villagers is very similar to the gameplay in the Happy Home Paradise DLC. For players who invested a lot of time and money into that expansion, the hotel feels like a free version of something they’ve already paid for.

Honestly, the hotel’s gift shop might be the only thing saving it. I’m really hoping they stock a ton of cool new Animal Crossing: New Horizons furniture – I’m definitely on the hunt for some!

The Slumber Islands are a mixed blessing. While they’re a fun addition to the game, many players might feel a little sad about them. It’s been about four years since the last major update, and a lot of people who were eager for more content likely started over with new islands, sacrificing all their previous progress. If the Slumber Islands had been released a few years ago, those players wouldn’t be in this position. Both the Slumber Islands and the Hotel are great – the Islands let you design spaces with friends, and the Hotel offers a good option for those who didn’t buy the Happy Home Paradise expansion. However, the real highlight of this update is multi-craft, a feature fans have been requesting since the game first came out, and it’s something everyone can enjoy.

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2025-11-03 14:04