The September 2018 Nintendo Direct closed out with a new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter, the unlikely mayoral assistant Isabelle, originally from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Not quite a clone of Villager, Isabelle does share some similar moves but unique moves of her own as well.
Immediately after, a second trailer appeared to tease Animal Crossing‘s Tom Nook as another playable character, only to confirm the anticipated news that a new Animal Crossing game will be coming to Switch sometime in 2019. No title or release window were given. It marks the first genuinely new entry in the series since 2012, with last year’s mobile spin-off Pocket Camp and other spin-offs released in-between.
