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Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0 update is live -- Everything you need to know

Nintendo has set Animal Crossing's big free 2.0 update live.

Kevin Knezevic Former staff writer
Kevin has been covering video games and tech since 2010, with a particular focus on Nintendo and Pokemon. Squirtle is the best starter and nothing will convince him otherwise.
Kevin Knezevic
4 min read
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Nintendo has set its Animal Crossing update live a day early.

Nintendo

Animal Crossing: New Horizons' massive 2.0 update has arrived. The free content update introduces a ton of new features and items to the popular Nintendo Switch life sim, including Brewster, gyroids and more. Not only that, but it launched alongside a new wave of Animal Crossing Amiibo cards and a paid DLC expansion that adds even more to do. Here's a rundown of all the biggest additions.

Returning characters

Among other things, the 2.0 update adds Brewster's cafe, the Roost. The cafe will be located on the second floor of your island's museum. You can grab a cup of coffee and even run into other islanders who are taking a break there. You can also invite specific characters to hang out in the cafe using Animal Crossing Amiibo figures and cards.

Brewster isn't the only character returning to the game. Following the 2.0 update, you'll encounter Kapp'n at your island's pier. For Nook Miles, Kapp'n can take you on boat tours once per day, ferrying you to mysterious islands with new flora or a different season or time of day. Of course, Kapp'n will also sing his trademark sea shanties during the voyage.

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Brewster's cafe arrives as part of New Horizons' 2.0 update.

Nintendo

Harv's Island is also undergoing some significant changes. Harv is working with Harriet, the hairstylist from previous Animal Crossing games, to expand the island into a plaza. You can contribute bells to help them fund various new stalls, including permanent shops for Saharah, Kicks and other characters. Katrina the fortune teller and Tortimer, the mayor from previous games, are also returning, as are Reese and Cyrus. The alpaca couple will be able to customize furniture for you.

New features

The 2.0 update has also introduced a variety of new features and items. Using a new tape deck in the plaza, you and the other islanders can now partake in some stretching, similar to the morning aerobics that took place during the summer months in the original Animal Crossing game for the Nintendo GameCube . You can perform the stretches using either buttons or motion controls.

Island ordinances from Animal Crossing: New Leaf have also returned. You can choose an ordinance to further tailor the experience to your play style. The Early Bird ordinance, for instance, makes all islanders active earlier in the day than they normally are.

The game's camera function has been expanded, as well. With the new Pro Camera NookPhone app, you can view your island from a first-person perspective and snap photos of villagers and the scenery. You can also set down a tripod so that your character can appear in these photos.

On top of that, villager interactions have been expanded. Your islanders can now invite you over to their homes to hang out, and they can even drop by for a surprise visit at your house.

New items and customization

Nintendo has also introduced a ton of new items and customization options in the 2.0 update. Tom Nook will be able to remodel your home with a variety of new exteriors. There's an assortment of new fence types as well, and you'll even be able to customize some of them. On top of that, there are new cooking DIY recipes. You can plant vegetables like tomatoes, carrots and more and use those ingredients to create dishes like soup and pizza.

If you've accumulated a ton of Nook Miles, you can redeem those for new furniture, including new types of fountains, streetlights and more. Nintendo has also added an outdoor storage shed that connects to your storage boxes back home, as well as an outdoor ABD terminal that lets you easily access your account without having to return to the Resident Services building.

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You'll be able to dig up gyroids and place them around your home.

Nintendo

K.K. Slider has expanded his set list, as well. The wandering musician has 12 new songs to play following the update. Gyroids from previous games have also returned. You'll be able to dig up gyroid fragments from the ground, which you can then plant and water to grow new gyroids. Additionally, Nintendo has added 11 new gestures and 11 new hairstyles to the game, and you'll now be able to customize the ceilings in your home with lights and other fixtures.

Happy Home Paradise paid DLC

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The Happy Home Paradise paid DLC lets you design dream vacation homes and other buildings for various characters.

Nintendo

Alongside the free 2.0 update, Nintendo has released a paid DLC expansion for Animal Crossing: New Horizons called Happy Home Paradise. Similar to the Happy Home Designer game for the Nintendo 3DS , this expansion lets you build dream vacation homes and other kinds of buildings for different villagers based on their requests.

The Happy Home Paradise DLC costs $25. It is also included for free as part of the new Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier. An individual subscription to the expanded service costs $50 per year, while an annual family plan -- which covers up to eight different Nintendo accounts across multiple systems -- costs $80.