Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will be replaced by paid ‘complete edition’

Nintendo has made great strides with its mobile games over the last six years. One of the longest-running and most popular Nintendo smartphone games, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, is going offline soon. However, it will be replaced by a premium “complete edition”.

Nintendo announced plans to retire the current free-to-play version of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp back in August, confirming that the game would go offline starting on the 29th of November. However, Animal Crossing fans can continue building out their town with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete, starting on the 3rd of December:

This will no doubt be the best version of the mobile game to date, forgoing the microtransaction mechanics of the free-to-play version in favour of a simple, offline-playable version of the game that you can carry with you in your pocket.

As a complete game, the new version will carry a hefty price tag of $19.99, which is low for Nintendo game standards, but very high compared to the litany of free games available on Android and iOS. However, initially, the game will be sold at a much more palatable £8.99 until the 31st of January, so if you're thinking about picking this up, you best do it early on.

Save data from the original version of Pocket Camp can be transferred to the new Complete Edition via a Nintendo account. Your player level, Bells, friendship levels, furniture, crafting items, outfits and layouts will all carry over, so you don't have to start from scratch.

As you may expect, the paid version of the game will not include the premium currency, Leaf Tickets, nor will it include the subscription-based Pocket Camp Club service. As this is an offline version of the game, it also doesn't include multiplayer features, so you won't get to show off your campsite to friends without physically handing them your phone.

While this is seen as a moving-on moment for Nintendo and Pocket Camp, the company does have plans to release a few more updates for the Complete Edition in 2025, introducing new items and events for players to participate in.

KitGuru Says: At £8.99, I could be convinced to buy this, but at its planned $20 price tag, I don't see this topping App Store charts. Still, the game should have a strong launch at its lower price tag and hopefully, there will be regular seasonal sales to bring the game back down to its introductory price.

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