For many, playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons is indicative of a specific time: March 2020. Lockdown hit, but solace was found in finding connection with cute animal villagers – and each other – on a virtual, idyllic island.
Gradually over the following year, players dropped off due to Animal Crossing fatigue, a lack of content updates, and finally being able to go outside.
Now, though, the game is experiencing something of a renaissance thanks to its recent – and much requested – free update that adds plenty of new content, from Brewster’s coffee shop to gyroids, cooking, and quality of life improvements. Then there’s Happy Home Paradise, the game’s one and only piece of paid DLC.
That renaissance is most obvious on Twitch. Looking at Twitch stats over the past year, the game has seen a huge spike in interest throughout November. And that’s coming from both the number of channels streaming content and viewers watching.