Nintendo has confirmed that Animal Crossing: New Horizons will receive both a Nintendo Switch 2 edition and a free 3.0 update, arriving on January 15, 2026. The recently released trailer packed in so many additions that one practical improvement slipped past a lot of viewers: the game now supports batch crafting.
The clip — roughly six minutes in — showcases Tom Nook assigning crafting tasks for the new hotel content. During the segment a player produces three wooden wardrobes in one action to fulfill an order; the crafting bench now prompts with “How many will you craft?” before the animation begins, and a small counter indicates how many of the item are required for the job.
Importantly, Nintendo didn’t explicitly bill batch crafting as a universal new mechanic — it might initially be tied to Tom Nook’s hotel-related orders. Still, it would be surprising if this convenience were confined only to a single quest type rather than extended to crafting across the island.
Batch crafting is one of several long-requested quality-of-life improvements coming in 3.0. Storage is getting major attention: two new upgrade tiers will raise capacity to 7,000 and 9,000 items, and players can finally store shrubs, flowers, and trees. Resetti’s new reset service, which clears selected zones of the island, will also be able to access that storage.
Those changes are just a fraction of what’s planned for next year. Expect a wide array of fresh items, hotel-decor tools and options reminiscent of Happy Home Paradise, expanded aesthetic possibilities on Slumber Island, and more. For now, though, batch crafting is the feature I’m most excited to explore.
Both Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and the 3.0 update are scheduled to launch on January 15, 2026.
Source: Polygon
