Animal Crossing: New Horizons is adding swimming and diving in a brand new Wave 1 free summer update. The new Animal Crossing update will release on July 3, 2020, and will be a free Nintendo Switch download for owners of the game.
The new update will allow players to swim and dive in their islands, tracking down sea creatures that they can then donate to Blathers’ museum. The sea creatures will be new catchable critters, so expect a few more fish to be added to your aquarium.
It will also mark the return of Pascal, the otter character who previously appeared in Animal Crossing: Wild World, City Folk, and New Leaf. Pascal will reward the player with special DIY recipes in exchange for scallops, with a full mermaid furniture set being shown in the trailer highlighting the update.
The update will also include a new encounter with Gulliver, the stranded seagull who players can often find lying on their island beaches.
The new update includes:
- Swimming and diving
- Sea creature donations
- New encounter with Pascal the otter
- New DIY recipes
- New encounter with Gulliver
The Wave 1 update will also be followed by a Wave 2 update, which Nintendo has revealed will be released sometime in August. It’s unclear what Wave 2 will contain, but Wave 1 already features a bunch of new additions that gives players more things to do on their islands.
Animal Crossing has received a number of free updates since release, including Bunny Day and its wedding season. Many of these updates have been criticized by players for lacking exciting content, though Wave 1 looks set to change that with some more interesting collectibles and a brand new gameplay feature.
You can watch the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Wave 1 update below:
