Many Animal Crossing competitors have emerged since New Horizons became a breakout success in 2020, but few have a chance to take on the popular Nintendo series like HoYoverse's Petit Planet. Now, we've learned that a showdown between the two games will take place on Nintendo Switch 2, as a release window for a port was recently confirmed. We already knew that Petit Planet would be released on PC, iOS, and Android on Dec. 4.
At the end of a Pre-Launch Special Program livestream HoYoverse held for Petit Planet today, a brief trailer confirmed that a Nintendo Switch 2 port is in the works and has a 2027 release window. We also see a bit of gameplay footage that looks on par with the PC version and clearly supports both docked and handheld play. The fit for Petit Planet on Nintendo Switch 2 is obvious, as cozy games like it dominate on Nintendo systems.
Although it has more of a sci-fi aesthetic than Animal Crossing, the same gameplay loops of customizing a character and then building up a homestead (in this case a planet) were on full display in that latest livestream. Petit Planet doubles down on farming more than Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as it's clearly also inspired by cozy games like Stardew Valley. Polygon has previewed Petit Planet a couple of times and consistently enjoyed it, though we have had questions about how disruptive the gacha live service elements would be once the game exits pre-release playtesting.
We'll get our answer in December, and then truly know whether Petit Planet has the potential to take on Animal Crossing by the time it launches on Switch 2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition released in January, but no brand-new Animal Crossing game has been announced for the latest Nintendo console yet. As such, it makes sense why HoYoverse would want to prioritize this version of Petit Planet over a PS5 or Xbox Series X port, as the Animal Crossing-like does have some real potential to catch on when it hits Nintendo Switch 2 next year.
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