Every New Villager Coming to Animal Crossing: New Horizons in 2026

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Fans of the Animal Crossing series have been anticipating the next game for a while. While many expected Nintendo to reveal a new title alongside the Switch 2, they surprised everyone with a different announcement. Instead of a brand-new game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons will receive a large, free update and a version optimized for the Switch 2 in early 2026. It’s not the sequel players were hoping for, but it will add a significant amount of new content to the existing game.

On January 15th, 2026, a major update (version 3.0) is coming to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, alongside the release of the new Switch 2 console. This update introduces lots of fresh content, like a hotel where you can design rooms for guests. However, the biggest addition is likely the three new Dream Islands, giving players more space to customize and create as they’ve always wanted. You’ll also be able to invite your favorite villagers – and even some brand new faces – to these islands. Here’s a list of all the confirmed new villagers coming in this large New Horizons update.

Mineru (Legend of Zelda)

The free update for New Horizons will include a fun collaboration with The Legend of Zelda! Players can look forward to new cosmetic items inspired by Hyrule, and even new villagers to meet. One of these new villagers is Mineru, who first appeared in Tears of the Kingdom. This marks Mineru’s first-ever appearance as a villager in any Animal Crossing game.

Following an update to Animal Crossing: New Horizons in January, players can add Mineru to their island by scanning her amiibo. She’s one of the last surviving Zonai from the world of Hyrule, and she’s expected to have a “Snooty” personality.

Tulin (Legend of Zelda)

Okay, so they’re adding Tulin from Tears of the Kingdom to Animal Crossing: New Horizons! It’s pretty cool – it’s the younger version of him that showed up in Breath of the Wild. They actually based the model for the game on that kid version, which is a neat detail for us fans!

Just like Mineru, you’ll need to scan a Tulin amiibo to invite him to your island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Tulin is brand new to the Animal Crossing series and will likely have the “jock” personality type.

Cece (Splatoon)

The January 15th update for New Horizons will include characters from Splatoon. One of these new Villagers is Cece, a squirrel inspired by the Splatoon character Callie, who originally appeared in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Players can unlock Cece by scanning the Callie amiibo in Splatoon. Once scanned, this squirrel villager, who’s designed to look like the character, will move to your New Horizons island. Based on how she’s been in the past, she’ll likely have a Peppy personality.

Viche (Splatoon)

Viche, similar to Cece, is designed after a character from the game Splatoon. She’s based on Marie and made her debut in Animal Crossing: New Leaf at the same time as Cece. Both Viche and Cece are squirrels.

You can get Viche in New Horizons by scanning Marie’s amiibo, which will then allow her to move to your island. Marie has a Normal personality type in New Leaf, and she’ll probably have the same personality when she comes to New Horizons.

So far, we know of four new characters coming with the update, which is awesome! But with so many guests checking into Kapp’n’s hotel, I’m really hoping we’ll get even more surprises – I wouldn’t be shocked if more characters showed up!

Excited about the upcoming update for New Horizons? Share your thoughts and join the discussion in the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-11-02 17:11