Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 patch notes reveal more big changes

The long-awaited Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 update has finally arrived (a day early!), and Nintendo has released its corresponding patch notes. While some of the bigger features in the update, like the new hotel on the dock, players were well aware of, some other impactful changes that were never officially announced during promotion of 3.0 have now been revealed.

Nintendo announced in late 2025 that the game would be receiving a dual set of updates: version 3.0, and a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. The Nintendo Switch 2 update includes several changes that take advantage of the device's hardware, like mouse controls, while 3.0 adds content like a special resetting service, many new items, and the aforementioned hotel, which players help to decorate.

There have been many impactful quality-of-life changes that have made their way to the game that fans are only discovering as they've begun playing. One of the biggest changes comes to crafting — while we previously knew batch crafting was being added to the game, players can now craft by pulling materials directly from storage, which is a huge improvement the player base has asked for since launch. In other DIY-streamlining news, there is now a new dedicated tab in the crafting menu specifically for DIY requests related to the hotel. Customization has become easier, too, as players can now purchase 50 customization kits from Nook's Cranny at a time, instead of being limited to five.

Terraforming and decorating have also been given a quality-of-life pass, with the introduction of a new movement feature. Now, when players press and hold down the left shoulder button while moving, they'll slide around while facing the same direction, and tapping the button will also make players turn 90 degrees, both of which are great for things like pathing more efficiently.

Two special furniture sets are now available for all players through Nook Shopping: Mario-themed items and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp items. Previously, the former was only available by linking a Nintendo Account, and the latter required linking to the now-decommissioned live-service mobile game.

The full Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 patch notes can be found below.

General updates (Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch)

• The previously announced new content and features have been added.
• It’s now possible to craft up to 10 items at once if you have enough materials.
• Items stored in your home storage can now be used as DIY materials.
• The DIY Recipes app now includes a page where you can check hotel DIY requests and items requested by Tom Nook as you progress through the game.
• Items obtained by linking with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp can now always be ordered from Nook Shopping.
• Super Mario Bros. items can now be ordered from Nook Shopping without linking to a Nintendo Account.
• While outdoors on an island, holding down the L Button allows you to move while facing the same direction.
• When changing the island tune at Resident Services, Isabelle will now suggest recommended melodies, including the original island tune.
• When changing the island flag at Resident Services, you can now revert it to the original design from when the island was created.
• You can now purchase up to 50 Customization Kits at once from Nook’s Cranny.
• Several items, including Snowflakes, can now be sold at the drop-off box at Nook’s Cranny.
• You will receive a Pearl every time you give a scallop to Pascal.
• You can now ask Leif to remove weeds when there are 30 or more weeds on your island, either on Harv’s Island or during his visits
• The fee for asking Leif to remove weeds has been reduced.
• New tips have been added to the Island Life 101 app.
• Additional Nook Miles tasks have been added alongside the new features.
• The order of some collaboration items has been updated in the catalogs used for photo studios and hotel decorating.
• Other adjustments and corrections were made to improve the gameplay experience.

Nintendo Switch 2 specific updates

• Fixed an issue where the startup sound for Nook Shopping on the smartphone would not play correctly.

NookLink (Nintendo Switch App) updates

• Added new articles to the Island Newspaper.
• The Catalog now supports new items added in Ver. 3.0.0.

There have also been some things not even included in these patch notes that are more like fun details of new features, rather than changes to existing ones. The fact that hotel guests that previously lived on the island will remember the player, how each of Luna's customizable Slumber Islands has 100 custom design slots, and the ability to decorate around the exterior of the hotel were things fans have found surprise and delight in.Considering it hasn't been long since the update's release, there's likely even more that players will discover over time.