Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise - How to preorder and play the new paid DLC

Pre-orders for the official Animal Crossing DLC are live (Image via Nintendo)
Pre-orders for the official Animal Crossing DLC are live (Image via Nintendo)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons' final major update is going live on November 5, which is rapidly approaching. The update is set to include the Roost, several returning villagers, new shops and the return of several items, including Gyroids. Perhaps the biggest addition won't come with the free update, however.

New Horizons is getting its first ever paid DLC at the same time. The update and the paid DLC, titled Happy Home Paradise, will both arrive at the same time on November 5.

Since it is a paid DLC, people can actually pre-order it ahead of time to save them the trouble later. Here's how.


How to pre-order new Animal Crossing Happy Home Paradise DLC

There are a couple of ways to pre-order the DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The first is through the Nintendo eShop. Here's how to access it:

  1. Turn on Nintendo Switch
  2. Navigate to the eShop button on the bottom row
  3. Select the appropriate account
  4. Head to the search bar
  5. Search for "Happy Home Paradise"
  6. Select pre-order
  7. Select payment method
  8. Done!

This is the easiest method and it can be completed relatively quickly. The Happy Home Paradise DLC is going to cost players about $25 this way. After that, players will own the DLC forever and can play it whenever.

The second way of pre-ordering this DLC is to get it through the brand new Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass. This was recently announced, but it expands the library of classic Nintendo games available and offers the DLC for no extra charge.

The new Switch Online expansion comes with Happy Home Paradise DLC (Image via Nintendo)
The new Switch Online expansion comes with Happy Home Paradise DLC (Image via Nintendo)

The individual cost for this expansion is $50 a year, while the family pass is $80 a year. This is significantly more expensive than the DLC, but it comes with a lot more than just the Animal Crossing content.

Currently, there doesn't appear to be a way to buy them in stores. After the official release, there may be download codes appearing in stores like GameStop and Walmart, but it is digital-only for the time being.