Summary
- Nintendo has filed a patent that could hint at a newspaper feature in the next Animal Crossing game.
- The patent describes a generated newspaper that describes Animal Crossing-style events happening on an island.
- The patent may not ever actually be used, but a new Animal Crossing game is inevitable.
A recent Nintendo patent may hint at a new feature in the works for the next Animal Crossing game. Animal Crossing is one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, reaching new heights during the COVID-19 pandemic with the release of the beloved Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It’s been five years since New Horizons hit store shelves and, with a brand-new Nintendo console around the corner, news on the next game in the series is likely to come sooner rather than later.
At the time of this writing, a new Animal Crossing game has not been announced by Nintendo. In fact, Nintendo has largely kept quiet about its plans for the Switch 2’s games, so far only confirming the existence of a new Mario Kart for the system. Nintendo will reveal a lot more about the Switch 2 in the months ahead, but in the meantime, a recent patent from the company may hint at its plans for a future Animal Crossing title.
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Nintendo has filed a patent that describes a newspaper that’s generated based on events that happen in a game, with the example photo in the patent very obviously referring to Animal Crossing. The patent shows an Island Newspaper with headlines informing players of an upcoming Halloween celebration and recapping various events that took place over the past couple of in-game weeks. Events described include shooting stars appearing in the night sky, insects being caught, a DIY build being completed, the museum being built, and more.
Nintendo Patent Hints at Animal Crossing Newspaper Feature
The example shown in the patent seems to be based specifically on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but it was first filed in 2024 and just now published in 2025. It’s entirely possible that this is a feature that Nintendo plans on using for the new Animal Crossing game that is inevitably in development for the Nintendo Switch 2, but there’s also a chance that the patent won’t ever be used. It’s also possible that this patent will be featured in a completely unrelated game and Animal Crossing is simply being used as an example. Companies file patents all the time without any of them ever making their way into games or hardware, and so fans should keep that in mind before getting excited about the potential of a new newspaper feature being in the next Animal Crossing.
While we don’t know for sure what the next Animal Crossing game will entail, a new entry in the long-running series is inevitable. After all, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was a massive sales success and also earned a great deal of critical acclaim. It’s a game that’s still played daily by many players to this day, and so Animal Crossing on Switch 2 is a matter of “when” not “if.”
