Animal Crossing: New Horizons- How to get the brand new 2022 balloon arch

The end of the year is almost here, and for Animal Crossing: New Horizons players, that means big things. For starters, the Toy Day event is right around the corner, as is The New Year's Eve Countdown and so much more.

Related to the New Year's Eve event, players in the Animal Crossing community have found a special balloon arch to bring in the new year of 2022. This new item is going to be available during the event and it seems like players can expect more exclusive seasonal items to be added. Here's how to get the balloon arch ahead of time and when it's expected to arrive.

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How to get the 2022 celebratory balloon arch in Animal Crossing

The balloon arch is scheduled to release on December 31, right in time for New Year's Eve. It will be available in Nook's Cranny, so it won't be free or given as a reward for playing the game. It will be available from New Year's Eve until January 5, so it will be a limited time sale.

The balloon arch will be similar to the 2021 version from last year (Image via Nintendo)

There is one, albeit frowned upon, method to acquiring it early. Time travel is something many players have done in order to get to certain events or unlock certain time-locked items. It's frowned upon by many players and Nintendo itself, but it happens anyway.

Animal Crossing players can set their Nintendo Switch's internal clock to that day or any day during the sale for that matter. The game will act as if it is that date, even if it is January 31, 2022 or December 11, 2021. With that in mind, players who miss out on the item can still purchase it later with this method.

The item will, fittingly, cost 2,022 bells. It will be an exclusive for this year, so without time traveling, this will be the only opportunity to pick it up for Animal Crossing: New Horizons players.