Nintendo Announces Animal Crossing Is Coming to iOS This Week

Following through on its promise of a “late-November release,” Nintendo over the weekend announced via Twitter that its latest mobile game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for iOS and Android, will officially arrive on the app store this Wednesday, November 22.

Much akin to the original, console-based title, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for mobile blends the familiar ‘city life simulator’ interface with an all-new camping-style theme — allowing players to construct a campsite, for instance, rather than build a home, while retaining the same elements of customization and ability to interact with animals and friends which have rendered the franchise a success on the DS and 3DS game systems.

The debut of Animal Crossing on iOS marks the latest and perhaps most promising opportunity for Nintendo to capture a bigger share of the mobile gaming market, following the releases of Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem: Heroes back in 2016 and earlier this year, respectively.

As we reported, Animal Crossing was originally rumored to be among Nintendo’s first major releases for mobile — however the title was ultimately delayed until now as the game-maker channeled its energies on other major releases, fulfilling its promise to create at least two to three new games for mobile every year.

As The Verge points out, although Animal Crossing is a more niche franchise for Nintendo, the Pocket Camp title for mobile coming out on Wednesday ultimately has the potential to flourish due to its more natural, daily reward- and communication-based method of gameplay, which has so far captured nearly 11 million active players worldwide.