Key Facts
- ✓ The 3.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons increased the player limit from eight to twelve per island.
- ✓ Organizing a 12-player session required coordinating 11 adults, a process that took over 90 minutes to complete successfully.
- ✓ The group opted to use Discord for voice chat instead of Nintendo's native Game Chat due to compatibility and functionality limitations.
- ✓ Multiple session crashes occurred during the setup phase, with the final successful assembly happening at 10:05 PM, an hour past the scheduled start time.
- ✓ Once established, the multiplayer session was described as a "genuinely pretty great time," highlighting the feature's potential despite its technical flaws.
Quick Summary
The recent 3.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons introduced a highly anticipated feature: the ability to host up to 12 players on a single island. This change, part of a broader Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade, promised more vibrant and crowded social spaces for players. However, the reality of organizing such a session has proven to be far more complex than the concept suggests.
Organizing a group of 12 adults to coordinate a single hour of gameplay is a challenge in itself. When technical hurdles are added to the mix, the experience can quickly become frustrating. This article details the technical difficulties encountered when attempting to utilize the new 12-player feature, highlighting the challenges within Nintendo's current online functionality.
The Grand Plan
The initial idea was simple: gather 11 friends for a one-hour session on a single island. The group decided against using Nintendo's native Game Chat functionality, citing a lack of compatibility with Bluetooth headsets and restrictive friending requirements. Instead, they opted for Discord to manage voice communication, a common choice for Nintendo players seeking a more flexible solution.
To accommodate the expected influx of players, the host logged in 30 minutes early to open the island gates. The plan was to allow friends to filter in gradually, hoping that the improved loading times of the Nintendo Switch 2 would mitigate the notoriously long wait times associated with island arrivals. The group was prepared for a slow process, but not for the systemic failures that were about to unfold.
The session was scheduled to begin at 9:00 PM. The host anticipated watching the seaplane landing cutscene 11 times—a familiar but lengthy animation for anyone who has hosted visitors in the game. The goal was to have everyone assembled and ready to play by the end of the hour.
"It's baffling to me that Nintendo's infrastructure for Animal Crossing is still set up this way."
— Host of the session
A Cascade of Errors
The first attempt began at 8:35 PM. The first three players successfully landed on the island before the entire session crashed, forcibly ejecting everyone and closing the island gates. A second attempt started at 8:46 PM, this time with a more organized approach. A queue was established in the Discord text chat to prevent players from overwhelming the connection simultaneously.
Despite these precautions, errors persisted. At 8:58 PM, one player received an error that kicked them out, though the rest of the group remained connected. The session continued, with the kicked player rejoining the line. The group felt a surge of optimism at 9:19 PM when the 12th player seemingly landed successfully.
That optimism was short-lived. Just two minutes later, as the 12th player strolled into the town square, another error occurred, kicking two other players out. The situation deteriorated rapidly. At 9:24 PM, a player attempting to rejoin triggered another crash, booting every single participant back to their own consoles and closing the host's gates once again.
"At 9:24pm, one of the people who had been kicked out tried to rejoin, errored out, and the whole session crashed again. Every single person got booted back to their islands and my gates were closed again, just as we were finally about to taste success."
The Root of the Problem
The core issue appears to be fundamental to how Animal Crossing: New Horizons handles online visitors. Each time a player arrives, the game triggers a specific sequence: a cutscene, a save process, and a temporary freeze of the host's game. With 12 players, this sequence must repeat 11 times, creating a significant bottleneck.
The host noted that the process requires everyone not currently traveling to watch a "mostly-blank airport-themed loading screen." Furthermore, any action taken by the host—such as navigating menus—is interrupted when a new player arrives. This design choice, while perhaps intended to ensure data integrity, creates a cumbersome and disruptive experience for large groups.
The frustration is compounded by other social features. For example, the Group Stretching activity requires players to be "Best Friends" with the host, adding another layer of administrative overhead. The host speculated that Nintendo may not have intended for the 12-player feature to be used in this manner, noting that the game's current popularity does not match the surge seen in 2020.
- Lengthy arrival cutscene for every visitor
- Game freezes for the host during each arrival
- Restrictive requirements for social activities
- Lack of robust infrastructure for large groups
The Final Outcome
After nearly 90 minutes of repeated attempts, the group finally succeeded. At 10:05 PM, all 12 players were assembled on the island. Once the technical barriers were overcome, the actual gameplay experience was reported as "genuinely a pretty great time." Players exchanged gifts, took photos, explored the island, and engaged in social activities like writing on the bulletin board.
The session included lighthearted pranks, such as burying items and trapping villagers with holes, demonstrating the potential for fun when the technical side works. However, the success came at the cost of nearly the entire scheduled hour, which was spent troubleshooting rather than playing.
The host concluded that while Animal Crossing: New Horizons remains a fun game to play with friends, the setup process for large groups is a "massive pain in the butt." The experience highlights a disconnect between the game's social ambitions and its technical execution, leaving players to wonder if the infrastructure will ever be updated to better support the community's desires.
"It's baffling to me that Nintendo's infrastructure for Animal Crossing is still set up this way."
Looking Ahead
The introduction of a 12-player limit in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a welcome feature on paper, offering new possibilities for social interaction. However, the technical execution reveals significant flaws in Nintendo's online architecture. The reliance on sequential cutscenes and saves creates a fragile system that struggles to handle large groups, turning what should be a celebration of community into a test of patience.
For players hoping to host large gatherings, the experience serves as a cautionary tale. While the game's social features are rich and engaging, the technical foundation may not yet be ready to support them at scale. As the community continues to explore the limits of the new update, it remains to be seen whether Nintendo will address these underlying issues or if players will continue to navigate these frustrating hurdles in pursuit of a perfect island party.
"At 9:24pm, one of the people who had been kicked out tried to rejoin, errored out, and the whole session crashed again. Every single person got booted back to their islands and my gates were closed again, just as we were finally about to taste success."
— Host of the session
