LEGO’s mystery new 2024 theme rumoured to be LEGO Animal Crossing
The mystery new theme apparently on the way in 2024 is now rumoured to be LEGO Animal Crossing, building on the LEGO Group’s established relationship with Nintendo.
Word of a mystery new LEGO theme first dropped earlier this week from price comparison site brickmerge.de, with five total sets launching in March 2024. That source only provided product numbers, prices and piece counts, however – leaving the identity of the theme up in the air. Brick Fanatics readers over on Facebook had plenty of suggestions, from Dune and Barbie to Doctor Who and Star Trek, but word is that we’re actually looking at a second new theme developed in partnership with Nintendo.
The LEGO Group and Nintendo have been working together since at least 2016, given the LEGO Super Mario theme took four years to develop, with the first interactive sets arriving on shelves in 2020 – but to date, the plucky plumber is pretty much the only output from that partnership. That’s apparently all set to change in 2024, as Instagram user 1414falconfan reports (via brick_clicker and exabrickslegogo_) that LEGO Animal Crossing is launching next year.
The five sets are said to deviate from the LEGO Super Mario theme by including minifigures with specially-moulded heads, presumably reflective of the oversized noggins of Animal Crossing’s cute characters. The video game franchise is built around the concept of crafting together your perfect island home, with open-ended gameplay and tranquil activities like fishing, hunting fossils and growing plants. Any LEGO sets are likely to be similarly serene, and filled with familiar anthropomorphic animal characters like Tom Nook and Isabelle.
Animal Crossing exploded in popularity with 2020’s New Horizons, which capitalised on the pandemic forcing people to stay indoors and isolate from one another. The Nintendo Switch game outsold every previous title in the series combined within just six weeks, grossing an estimated $2 billion in revenue in its first year. But with no new games since – and an eight-year gap between New Horizons and its mainline predecessor New Leaf – the timing of a LEGO Animal Crossing theme is a little surprising.
Unless, that is, Nintendo is already cooking up a sequel to New Horizons for its Switch successor, which is rumoured to be debuting in 2024. That would be a fairly quick follow-up, but with one eye on the overwhelming success of New Horizons, you never know what might be on the cards.
Of course, all word of LEGO Animal Crossing is still just a rumour for now, so take it with the customary pinch of salt until the LEGO Group and Nintendo confirm otherwise. For now, here’s a reminder of the five sets said to be on the way next year.
Every LEGO Animal Crossing set rumoured for 2024 so far
| LEGO set | Price | Pieces | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 77046 TBC | €14.99 | 170 | March 2024 |
| 77047 TBC | €19.99 | 164 | March 2024 |
| 77048 TBC | €29.99 | 233 | March 2024 |
| 77049 TBC | €39.99 | 389 | March 2024 |
| 77050 TBC | €74.99 | 535 | March 2024 |
Featured image: Nintendo
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