Animal Crossing: New Horizonshas been one of the biggest hits of the year, becoming one of the most popular Nintendo Switch games of all time in the process. Nintendo is looking to keep theAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsmomentum going with more free content, with fans able to look forward to two big updates this summer.

The first Summer Update forAnimal Crossing: New Horizonswill be available on Friday, July 3, and it will add significant new content to the game. Dubbed Wave 1, the newAnimal Crossingupdate will give players theability to swim and dive in the ocean. This should greatly expand players' ability to explore theirAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsworld, but it will also have a practical use beyond just being able to swim around.

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While swimming,Animal Crossing: New Horizonsplayers will be able to catch sea creatures sitting on the bottom of the ocean floor. These sea creatures can be donated toBlathers' museum, at which point they will appear in the aquariums. Of course, it’s also likely that players will be able to sell these sea creatures to Nook’s Cranny to make some extra bells as well. These sea creatures will giveAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsplayers even more to do in the game, and their addition will likely be appreciated by fans.

That’s not all that’s coming in the new update, though.Animal Crossing: New HorizonsSummer Update - Wave 1 will also be adding a brand new character named Pascal. Players can give Pascal items they find on the sea floor in exchange for specialDIY recipes. There will also be a new encounter with Gulliver, though how it differs from previous Gulliver encounters remains to be seen beyond that he is wearing a new red outfit.

TheAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsSummer Update - Wave 1looks like it will be plenty exciting for fans, but there’s much more to look forward to in the future. Nintendo has also confirmed that August will see the release of the second Summer Update, though it has stopped short of revealing exactly what that will entail.Animal Crossing: New Horizonsfans will just have to wait until August to find out more.

Considering how much content is coming with theAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsSummer Update - Wave 1, it seems like it will be better-received than theEaster updateor the more recent wedding-themed update, and it could very well convince lapsed players to pick up the game again. Fans will just have to check out the new content once it goes live in the game on July 3.

Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.