The free-to-play mobile game Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is going the way of the dodo on November 28. However, it’s being replaced by a paid, (mostly) offline version called Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete. This refresh drops on December 3, giving mobile Animal Crossing players just a few days without access to their beloved campsites.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete won’t be cheap. It’ll be $10 from December 2 until January 25. After that, the price doubles to $20. Tom Nook doesn’t mess around. However, it will allow existing players to transfer save data and progress via their Nintendo accounts. This should be a boon for those who have been on board with the title since 2017. These players have until June 1 to transfer data from the old version to the new game.
The paid version will be different from the original in some ways. First of all, Leaf Tickets are being replaced by Leaf Tokens, likely because the tickets were purchased using real money and this is no longer a freemium game. There’s also something called Camper Cards, which Nintendo calls “customizable in-game cards that each player can create and trade through a QR Code, and that includes information like your personal favorite animal pal.” QR codes? Everyone loves those.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete is also losing gift-sharing and the Market Box. There are a couple of other caveats for pre-existing players. First of all, there are no discounts available for current campers, even those who have regularly paid a monthly subscription fee. Some people have been paying those subs for years.
Finally, it looks like Nintendo plans on discontinuing support for the game next October, according to Kotaku. I’m no economist, but spending $20 on a mobile title that will likely stop receiving updates in less than a year doesn’t sound like fiscal responsibility. In any event, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete will be available for both iOS and Android come December.
