Animal Crossing: City Folk Deluxe Is Available Now

Published Oct 18, 2026, 6:25 AM EDT

Known as 'Cyberpunk 2077's' biggest fan, Angharad is a Welsh games writer who thrives in anything related to digital storytelling. If a video game explores the intricacies and horrors of womanhood, she is there.

Thanks to previous work at GAMINGbible, GameByte, The Loadout, Game Luster, Angharad has built a strong understanding of both the digital world and what fans want from it and is eager to share her thoughts and expertise with readers.

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Since the record-breaking launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in 2020, the beloved Nintendo franchise has entered something of a limbo. Despite being a lifeline for many people during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to catch up with friends, visit each other's islands, and run after Celeste in their droves, Nintendo soon left it in the dust, other than releasing one DLC a year later.

Now, six years on, and with many people having abandoned New Horizons due to its lack of new content, Nintendo is yet to reveal what is next for the Animal Crossing franchise. Not only that, but with the success of Pokopia serving as a competitor, the studio will have to pull out all the stops when it comes to the next installment. If there is one, that is.

That being said, it is not all doom and gloom, as Animal Crossing: City Folk Deluxe is here to save the day, as fans of the social simulation franchise can dive into an unofficial enhancement patch for Animal Crossing: City Folk/Let's Go to the City.

Animal Crossing Has Returned

Released back in 2008, Animal Crossing: City Folk launched on the Nintendo Wii and marked the third installment in the franchise. Despite receiving mixed reviews from fans, due to its lack of ambition compared to previous entries, it became one of the best-selling games for the Wii, and now it is back, and bigger than ever.

Animal Crossing: City Folk Deluxe introduces brand-new content and gameplay changes, and can be played on any homebrew-enabled Wii or Wii U via Riivolution without the need for backup images or hardware mods. However, if you are not sure if it is worth the hassle, you will be pleased to hear that its full feature list is enough to see you dust off that old hardware.

• 244 villagers from other games return! A complete list is given below.
• All 94 official distributed items are obtainable, including unreleased ones.
• Over 35 completely original items have been created and added.
• More than 40 unused items have been fully restored and made functional.
• All seasonal events and holidays are now accessible regardless of region.
• New and exclusive rewards for completionists have been added.
• Bottle mail has been implemented, occasionally appearing along the shoreline.
• Treasure hunts from Population Growing have been reintroduced.
• Additional bulletin messages provide a livelier gameplay experience.
• Forgeries are now visually distinct from their genuine counterparts.

Animal Crossing: City Folk Deluxe Is The Ultimate AC Title

Including everything you could possibly want from an Animal Crossing title, and then some, Animal Crossing: City Folk Deluxe is the mod we have all been waiting for, and better yet, it is completely free to download and play in its entirety. Featuring hundreds of gameplay enhancements and quality of life changes, as well as a whopping 244 new villagers, you are guaranteed hours of fun, making the wait for the next Animal Crossing entry seem like a minor inconvenience.