Animal Crossing Won’t Lock DLC Items to Switch Online

Nintendo has clarified some details about the upcoming Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise DLC and how it interacts with Nintendo Online memberships. In a statement sent to Digital Trends, Nintendo of America confirms that players will be able to keep items they earned through the DLC, even if they cancel their Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. However, they will not be able to play the DLC once they unsubscribe from the service.

According to Nintendo, players will need an active Expansion Pack membership to play the DLC. The archipelago will become inactive if players unsubscribe and do not own a copy of the DLC. Nintendo confirms that save data will still remain stored on the console. So if a player unsubscribes, they will not lose their save data and will be able to resume where they left off if they buy the DLC or resubscribe.

The most important detail is that items earned through the mode will still be usable in New Horizons even without a membership. “Players can keep all items they’ve acquired using the DLC during their membership to use on the main island,” Nintendo of America says in a statement sent to Digital Trends. “Players can also still continue to access certain things they have unlocked in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise on their main island, including adding counters [and} partition walls, as well as adding ambient lighting and soundscapes, even if their access to Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise is suspended.

That answer is a relief, as players were immediately worried that items gained through the mode would become inaccessible if they unsubscribed. In reality, all items will remain — it’s just the archipelago  that becomes inaccessible.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise launches on November 5. It will cost $25 or be available through a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership for no extra charge.

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