Animal Crossing: New Horizons online exhibition opens at the National Videogame Museum

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has received its very own online exhibition at the National Videogame Museum. 

Created with the intention of acting as a time capsule, documenting fans' experiences with the game during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Animal Crossing Diaries exhibition features a tonne of fan-written letters all of which detail how impactful the game has been over the last 18 months. 

 The Animal Crossing Diaries displays fans’ letters in one of five categories: 

• Keeping a Routine - which details how the game helped fans to keep a routine during lockdown 
• Making Your Space - which features entries on creating a virtual space in the game for players to escape to 
• Representing Yourself - which shows how players used the game to express their identity 
• Sharing Creativity - which showcases how the game allowed its players to unleash their creativity in new and unique ways 
• Staying in Touch - which features stories of people connecting via Animal Crossing: New Horizons when they weren’t able to in person due to the pandemic  

Based in Sheffield in the UK, the National Videogame Museum was established in 2015 with the aim of celebrating video games and preserving video game culture. In a tweet from the museum itself, the organizers explained: “This project is our way of collecting tales of the game becoming a routine part of our everyday lives.”

In the same thread announcing the exhibition, the NVM also stated that they had received hundreds of entries for the project and that “this exhibition is just the start” as it is still encouraging fans to submit their own stories to the Animal Crossing Diaries project. 

Find out how Tom Nook's island getaway took over 2020 in Animal Crossing: New Horizons one year later.