Animal Crossing: New Horizons' next update will be a Mario celebration

Animal Crossing: New Horizons patch notes
(Image credit: Nintendo)

The next Animal Crossing: New Horizons update is set for March and it will officially be Mario time.

With the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Festivale update settled into the game and the special event itself coming up in a few weeks, the official Nintendo Twitter account has confirmed what's next on the, well, horizon. Nintendo first teased the crossover in September, as part of the same big series of 35th anniversary announcements that revealed Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and Super Mario Bros. 35.

Nintendo said at the time that the update would add new Super Mario-themed furniture to Animal Crossing: New Horizons in March. It hasn't shared any more specifics about what furniture the update will add, or if there are any other festivities planned for the special occasion, though the teaser image includes a Super Mushroom and a Power Star. We wouldn't bet against it falling on Mario Day - Mar. 10 - either.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons originally came out in March of last year, which means the Mario update will bring the game full circle in terms of the calendar. While we'll have to wait and see if Nintendo adds any more all-new holiday events, it has promised that New Horizons will still get regular updates all throughout 2021, just as it did in 2020.

Nintendo recently confirmed that special Valentine's Day items are headed to New Horizons in time for Valentine's Day - and players found out that dancing can save you from wasps (temporarily).

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing's "obscure references" were all "localized out completely" before its debut in the West, as Nintendo felt it needed to "change everything"
Anime Life Sim
After unsuccessfully attempting to launch a Monster Hunter clone, this controversial dev is now supposedly releasing an Animal Crossing-like game on PS5
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp trailer screenshto showing a chibi-style female character with bobbed brown hair, a yellow flower atop her head, and a chef-like top, smiling with her arms out
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp's new paid version has finally arrived and is microtransaction-free, but fans already miss the old app
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp trailer screenshto showing a chibi-style female character with bobbed brown hair, a yellow flower atop her head, and a chef-like top, smiling with her arms out
As the free-to-play Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp prepares to go offline, Nintendo reveals more on the paid replacement - including its $20 price tag
Galactic Getaway
This multiplayer life sim is like Animal Crossing in outer space with Mario Party minigames, and it's just what I needed this Steam Next Fest
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp trailer screenshto showing a chibi-style female character with bobbed brown hair, a yellow flower atop her head, and a chef-like top, smiling with her arms out
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp players blast "greedy" Nintendo as new items roll out despite the game's imminent shutdown
Latest in News
Fantastic Four: 1234 #2 cover excerpt
Sue Storm and Namor are officially both in Avengers: Doomsday, and fans are wondering if Reed Richards has something to worry about
The First Berserker: Khazan protagonist
The First Berserker: Khazan isn't even out yet, but the new Soulslike RPG already has over 1,300 94% positive reviews on Steam from early buyers
fool me once
Harlan Coben’s new novel is set to be "more of a sequel" to the hit Netflix series Fool Me Once: "I don’t know any time that’s ever happened"
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Schedule 1
Schedule 1 is Steam's latest viral hit – an open-world drug dealing simulator with 98% positive reviews, co-op, and a free sample to get you started
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
Reclaiming their crown, pacifist Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 player beats the whole RPG as "Merciful Henry": 1,741 strikes blocked, 472 knockouts, and zero kills