The Animal Crossing franchise is the cozy title for plenty of different people across many demographics, from the first iteration in 2001 from Japan to the latest edition in 2020.
Whether you’re an aspiring home builder, looking for friends, or a collector of shiny things and creepy crawlies, Animal Crossing is the perfect game to curl up on the couch and play by yourself for a little me time or with your friends as you build out the most adorable town. There have been a handful of different titles within the franchise, but one aspect remains across all versions: Don’t forget to pay off Tom Nook.
If you’re interested in picking up one of Nintendo’s most popular games, here are all of the Animal Crossing games listed in release order.
Every Animal Crossing game in release order
There are six different titles in the Animal Crossing franchise, starting with the original version of the game called Animal Forest, which was only sold in Japan. Afterward, there was a three-to-four-year cycle for new Animal Crossing games until the latest version was released eight years after its predecessor.
| Game title | Platform | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Animal Forest | Nintendo 64 (Japan Exclusive) | 2001 |
| Animal Crossing | Nintendo GameCube | 2001 |
| Animal Crossing: Wild World | Nintendo DS | 2005 |
| Animal Crossing: City Folk | Nintendo Wii | 2008 |
| Animal Crossing: New Leaf | Nintendo 3DS | 2012 |
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Nintendo Switch | 2020 |
There are also three different spinoffs of Animal Crossing on other platforms, such as Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, which was released in 2015 on the Nintendo 3DS. In the same year, Nintendo dropped Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival for the Wii U. Two years later, in 2017, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp was released on iOS and Android.
None of these games featured the familiar mechanics of Animal Crossing, though, and were categorized as completely different experiences.
