Problems with Sharing Island & Adding Second Player in Animal Crossing New Horizons

Sharing your island in Animal Crossing New Horizons with other users on the same Switch has been causing some problems for players. Namely, it seems that players that come after one player already founds an Animal Crossing New Horizons can’t make any major decisions, like donating creatures and moving buildings. Naturally, people are wondering what to do about it. Others are wondering how to add a second player to their island in ACNH. We’re gonna explain the situation in our Problems with Sharing Island & Adding Second Player in Animal Crossing New Horizons guide.

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Problems with Sharing Island & Adding Second Player in Animal Crossing New Horizons
Problems with Sharing Island & Adding Second Player in Animal Crossing New Horizons

How to Solve Problems with Sharing Island in Animal Crossing New Horizons?

The main problem with sharing the island in Animal Crossing New Horizons is that people that come to the island second don’t have access to certain mechanics in the game. This is because the user profile that starts the game first acts as the mayor in previous games. Every profile that comes later acts as a villager. The only way to solve this, at least at the time of writing, is to delete the island completely and start anew. Maybe Nintendo will change this in a future patch, but right now, this is the only thing you can do.

So. the second user that comes to the island can gather resources and do some other basic stuff, but they can’t make any major decisions. This includes things like moving buildings and inviting new villagers. They also can’t donate creatures to Nook, which means that they can’t get recipes that way. They can, however, purchase recipes from Timmy, but only once the main player unlocks them.

So, yeah; users that come to the island after the first player has founded the island are gonna have a drastically different experience. But, you know, maybe have somebody that wants to play the game super-casually on your Switch and play second fiddle. If that’s the case, then keep reading.

Animal Crossing New Horizons – How to Add Second Player to Island?

To add a second player to your island in Animal Crossing New Horizons, you have to create a new profile on your Switch. Then, start the game using that profile, and it will prompt you to create your own New Horizons character. After that, you’ll be able to play as a villager. You will have to deal with the issues we’ve named above; keep that in mind. If you’re looking for how to play the game in co-op multiplayer, we’ve written guides for that too. Specifically, Share Dodo Codes & Invite Friends in Animal Crossing New Horizons and Animal Crossing New Horizons Co-op – Local, Online Multiplayer.

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Author JoeTheBard profile picture
A language teacher and video game enthusiast turned rogue, Joe is on a quest to become the ultimate gaming journalist. This is somewhat hampered by his belief that the golden age of gaming ended with the PlayStation One, but he doesn't let that stop him. His favorite games include Soul Reaver and Undertale. Other interests are D'n'D, dad rock, complaining about movies, and being the self-appointed office funny man, which nobody else agrees with.

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