On this day one year ago, the beloved Animal Crossing series finally made its way to the Nintendo Switch!

Indeed, the popular Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now one year old – with millions of fans embarking to their very own deserted island paradise on 20 March 2020. Much of the series’ mundane charm would make a return in New Horizons, alongside fun new additions such as item crafting and the ability to arrange furniture outdoors.

The biggest addition to New Horizons, however, was its introduction of the Island Designer app – which allows players to completely reconstruct the layout of their island as they wish. Many have built their dream homes with the help of this new ability, while others have also used it to creatively transform their islands into literal portraits of various in-game characters and even actor Danny Devito.

Of course, the game’s release window was pretty timely – launching right before many folks had to stay indoors due to the contagious COVIID-19 global pandemic that would sweep across the globe. It was during this time that many would find solace in the game’s stark normalcy, passing the time with all kinds of busywork to tweak their islands perfectly and keep their fellow islanders happy. Nintendo would also continue to promote interest in the game with constant updates throughout the year, which added new/existing seasonal events into players’ daily activities.

The popularity of New Horizons is reflected in its sales figures to date. According to Nintendo’s official data (as at the time of writing), the game has already sold over 31.18 million copies worldwide – making the second-bestselling Nintendo Switch title overall, just behind Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Only time will tell if Animal Crossing: New Horizons will continue to soar as one of the Switch’s killer apps. Nevertheless, the game has certainly touched many hearts around the world already with its stark simplicity – and will no doubt do so for months to come.

Happy first anniversary, Animal Crossing: New Horizons!