The ACNH Upcoming Update Has Me Excited to Start Again!
I admit, I’ve neglected my Animal Crossing New Horizons island, but the ACNH upcoming update in January of 2026 has me all excited to get going again. Plus, now I can stream my gameplay so I can share it with you all!
Streaming ACNH Finally!
In the past, Animal Crossing New Horizons gameplay has been a solo venture unless I invited someone over to play or went to someone else’s island. But that’s changing!
I recently bought myself a PC. It’s not for gaming. I just wanted something that had enough power to run OBS and give me some options. I write on my Macbook Air but they are not built for streaming or gaming. At all.
So, it took me about two weeks to get my PC and OBS set up properly. Ya, I’m not quite as techy as I used to be. There was a time I probably would have got it set up with my eyes closed, but at 55, that time is gone. LOL. But I did it and yesterday I did my first stream with my new PC and OBS.
I’d tried to stream ACNH when I had OBS set up on my Mac but it was not a very successful attempt. It lagged and everything was…well, horrible. But this set up? So far, it seems to be working.
(And let me say that OBS is much easier to set up than any other streaming software. At least for me. I tried Prism and Streamlabs and just couldn’t make it work.)
Touring on My First ACNH Stream
For my first ACNH stream, I basically did a little tour of my current island. Yes, current. This is my second island and I chose a lake resort theme. It’s called Graceland.
The island features a big lake (duh) with a carnival island in the middle. It’s one of my favorite spots and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else do a lake/island in the middle of their island before. Not to say it hasn’t been done. I’ve just never seen it.
It’s a great place to chill and enjoy the music or even do some fishing.
I don’t have a Dream address for this island yet because I’m not quite done. But before I restart again, I’ll record one and share it.
I also toured my old island, Philia, in my Dream Address (DA-5807–1839–6156) because I really loved this island. The theme was music festivals and it features a jazz cafe, country bar, symphony, mall, bed and breakfast, and many other cool little spots.
Back on Graceland, I was able to find a few of my villagers at home, which is always special because I’ve redecorated each of their homes to be a storefront of some kind.
Coco has a flower shop. She’s one of my favorites. Although, all of my villagers are my favorites. I tend to like the “weird” ones. Like Coco and her spooky eyes.
Coco was just chilling out wandering around her flower shop, waiting for someone to talk to. She was very talkative!
I also got to visit Pietro (who has a pawn shop because he’s kind of a janky little villager and I think he might be using the five finger discount to acquire things and sell them for a profit). He was cooking and he gave me the recipe he was making. I can’t remember what it was but it was something I didn’t have already, which was nice.
The rest of my villagers were out and and about, singing, looking at bugs, or buying snacks, so I didn’t get a chance to go into their homes/shops.
Other shops on my island include:
- Surf shop (Zucker)
- Nightclub (Lucky)
- Fish/bait/tackle shop (Octavius)
- Farmer’s Market (Mitzi)
- Diner (Marina)
- Sports shop (Papi)
- Bookstore (Patty)
- Ice cream shop (Sydney)
I’ve put a lot of work into them and the insides are all done but on Papi’s sports shop and Coco’s flower shop, I need to do some work on the inside.
Finishing Graceland Before a Restart
Not everyone likes a hard reset of their ACNH island. I get it. It’s a huge amount of work. But to be honest, I love the grind. It’s part of what I enjoy about Animal Crossing New Horizons.
Plus, if you completely reset your island and start from scratch, you get to keep your Dream Address forever. If you just tear everything down, you have on one DA. And I can’t let go of my islands forever.
I did a reset about a year and a half ago and never regretted it. I had a great time starting from scratch.
But before I do it again, I need to finish Graceland.
It’s mostly done but I have a few things to do including:
- finishing the outside of Papi’s and Coco’s homes/shops
- my beaches — they are largely empty and I need more to fill them out; I have a movie on the beach area and I’m working on a jam session beach spot and a little gym; and then just lots of places to lay in the sun and have a beach fire.
- fillers; there’s still lots of spaces on my island that are empty; mostly this is going to be more structure but casual flower gardens and trees.
So, my next stream, I’ll be working on those things.
Dream Address Tour Streaming
I’d like to do an Animal Crossing New Horizons Dream Address Tour stream where I just visit other people DAs. If you’d like me to visit yours and let you know when I’m going to do that, please put your DA below.
If you are also an ACNH streamer, please also let me know where you’re streaming and your streaming name and I’ll be sure to promote you in the comments of my stream as thanks for letting me tour your island.
