Animal Crossing: New Horizons to be down for server maintenance prior to the July update

For a game as big and popular as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, regular updates are necessary. However, since the fanbase is so big, it is only natural that some part of the community is active all the time.

Consequently, Nintendo needs to shut down the server for maintenance every time a major update comes. Such server maintenance shutdowns are not uncommon in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Players saw such shutdowns before the huge January and March updates as well. A similar server maintenance shutdown is taking place on June 28th and June 29th, before the big July update in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

---

When will the server maintenance take place in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

It will primarily be one for island backup prior to the big July update. The shutdown for maintenance will take place at different times in different places:

• Europe: June 29th (4 AM to 5.30 AM)
• UK: June 29th (3 AM to 4.30 AM)
• North America (ET): June 28th (10 PM to 11.30 PM)
• North America (PT): June 28th (7 PM to 8.30 PM)
• Japan: June 29th (11 AM to 12.30 PM)

The text that appears on the screen during server maintenance in Animal Crossing (Image via DigiStatement)

During server maintenance, there is primarily a restriction on online activities within the game. This means that players cannot send gifts to their in-game friends, visit other islands, or perform similar actions.

However, server maintenance usually never takes more than two hours and usually always concludes before the stipulated time.

---

How to reactivate the game after server maintenance?

Once the update is completed, players will need to connect their Nintendo Switch to the internet and go to the Home Menu to launch Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Since the update takes place automatically, the latest version number must appear on the launch screen to indicate that the update has been successfully installed.