Animal Crossing: New Horizons zodiac animals discovered in new update

Animal Crossing: New Horizons zodiac tiger figure
(Image credit: Nintendo)

The recent Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.04 update appears to be hiding a few new items in it including a collection of zodiac-themed animal statues. 

As shared by Animal Crossing World, players will soon be able to pick up a range of new seasonal items including zodiac animal figurines as well as the usual New Year's celebration items from all around the world. 

Uncovered by dataminers, it appears Nintendo has added not one but 11 new Zodiac animal statues that start with the Zodiac Tiger Figurine which will be available through the seasonal tab at Nook Shopping from December 22, 2021 - January 5, 2022, for 1,600 bells. 

What’s interesting though is that the other 10 figurines will be released one at a time around the end of each year. This means the Zodiac Rabbit Figurine will become available towards the end of 2022/3, the Zodiac Dragon Figurine in 2023/4, and so on. A full list of these new figures as well as when we can expect them to be added to Nook Shopping can be found below. 

  • Zodiac Tiger Figurine - Dec 2021 - Jan 2022
  • Zodiac Rabbit Figurine - Dec 2022 - Jan 2023
  • Zodiac Dragon Figurine - Dec 2023 - Jan 2024
  • Zodiac Snake Figurine - Dec 2024 - Jan 2025
  • Zodiac Horse Figurine - Dec 2025 - Jan 2026
  • Zodiac Sheep Figurine - Dec 2026 - Jan 2027
  • Zodiac Monkey Figurine - Dec 2027 - Jan 2028  
  • Zodiac Rooster Figurine - Dec 2028 - Jan 2029
  • Zodiac Dog Figurine - Dec 2029 - Jan 2030
  • Zodiac Boar Figurine - Dec 2030 - Jan 2031
  • Zodiac Pig Figurine - Dec 2030 - Jan 2031 (double year with Boar)
  • Zodiac Rat Figurine - Dec 2031 - Jan 2032
  • Zodiac Ox Figurine - Dec 2032 - Jan 2033 (repeat from Dec 2020)      

If you happen to be playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons in 2034, rest assured it is expected that these will continue being added to Nook Shopping in the same order to correspond with the real-world Chinese zodiac/Lunar calendar. 

Just like last year, Nook Shopping will also offer a number of other New Years items for players to pick up over the festive season including: The 2022 celebratory balloon arch (2,022 bells), New Year’s noodles (1,300 bells), New Year’s shimekazari (2,000 bells), Fizzy apple juice (1,000 bells), and much more. 

If you were wondering what other subtle changes the recent Animal Crossing: New Horizons updates have made, here’s a brief round up. First and foremost, the naked villager glitch was patched out, resident ghost Wisp became to have gotten more generous, and Gyroids began washing up onto the beach

If all of this wasn't a good enough reason to pick up your Nintendo Switch this Christmas, find out 6 reasons to get back into Animal Crossing this winter.

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

Read more
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"
Image of the Wind Waker Link amiibo standing in front of the Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch OLED.
My poor amiibo deserve a chance to shine on the Nintendo Switch 2
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time trailer screenshot showing a a cyan ghost-like female figure floating as light glows behind her, her expression sorrowful or worried
Fantasy Life developer says it struggled with "compatible platforms and new hardware," but now the long-awaited 3DS game sequel is "shaping up to be an outstanding RPG"
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
A screenshot from Super Mario Odyssey showing Mario throwing Cappy in New Donk City.
As Nintendo remains quiet on Switch 2 lineup, retailer lists "New 3D Mario" and "Legend of Zelda Remake/Remaster" under 2025 games
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds roadmap and all upcoming content
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
Lunar Remastered Collection
"Will today’s players still enjoy a game from 30 years ago?": JRPG icon Kei Shigema says he was thrilled to see Lunar getting a remaster even after all this time
Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank in The Last of Us episode 3
The Last of Us season 2 showrunners tease a "gorgeous" episode akin to season 1’s Emmy-nominated Bill and Frank story: "Just you wait"
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
Cyberpunk 2077
Despite releasing exactly zero new games, CD Projekt bagged $120 million in profit for 2024 – the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio's third-best result ever
Muse
Daredevil: Born Again midseason trailer teases Matt Murdock’s violent fight with Muse, including a gory scene straight from the comics
Batman looking over the city during Batman: Arkham City, one of the best PS3 games.
The PS2 Batman Begins game was considered such a "disaster" that Christopher Nolan turned down a Dark Knight-inspired game