Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp shutting down, but there’s good news for fans

By Carli Velocci Published August 22, 2024

Nintendo

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is going offline after seven years, but it’s not going away forever.

X (formerly Twitter) account Wario64 first posted an end-of-service announcement from Nintendo, which stated that the mobile entry in the popular life-simulator series will be ending online service on November 29. The game will be unplayable after that date, and services like the Pocket Camp Club subscription will also end.

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However, in a unique twist, Nintendo quietly announced that a new paid version of the app will be releasing around the shutdown, and Pocket Camp players will be able to transfer their data over through linking their Nintendo account. This does require Pocket Camp fans to pay one more fee if they want to continue playing, but there won’t be any more in-app purchases or extra services to buy.

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Nintendo will have more information on this in October, but promises the new app will have the same “basic gameplay and controls.” It will be missing some features that required an online connection in Pocket Camp, including visiting other players’ campsites. The company will end Pocket Camp Club enrollment on October 28, along with any automatic renewals.

Pocket Camp launched in 2017 amid a larger push into mobile gaming with other titles like Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes. It keeps the familiar Animal Crossing formula, only this time you run a campsite. You have to decorate it, complete tasks for fellow campers, and earn money you can put back into the camp.

However, Nintendo has been gradually pulling out of the mobile space over the past few years. Out of the seven Nintendo-published mobile games (not including Niantic-partnered ones like Pikmin Bloom and Pokémon Go), Nintendo has ceased service or ending new content rollout on five: Miitomo, Dr. Mario World, Mario Kart Tour, Dragalia Lost, and now Pocket Camp.

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Contributor, Games

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

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