Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update 1.4.0 patch notes reveal save and island transfers planned for 2020

Stefan L 30/07/20 Comments Closed

The second Summer Update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons is here, bumping the game’s version number up to 1.4.0 and bringing new features and events like a weekly fireworks show in August, Redd’s lucky raffle, the new equivalent to a Dream Suite, and more.

However, there’s also some big changes behind the scenes, with Nintendo enabling a new save and island backup service. So long as you have Nintendo Switch Online, this will periodically upload you island and save to the cloud, meaning that if your Switch is lost, damaged or stolen, you will be able to contact Nintendo and have them restore your island to a new or repaired Switch.

This is not a feature that you can fiddle with as a user, and is purely intended for when you are in need of support. However, the Version 1.4.0 patch notes do reveal that a save transfer feature is planned for sometime later this year.

We currently plan on adding a save data transfer feature within 2020. Information on the feature and timing will be announced at a future time.

This will be perfect for if Nintendo are actually working on a new, more powerful version of the Nintendo Switch and people want to switch to a new Switch.

Here’s the 1.4.0 patch notes:

Ver. 1.4.0 (Released July 30, 2020)

The software has been updated if you see “Ver. 1.4.0” in the upper-right corner of the title screen.

General updates
- A new seasonal event, Fireworks Shows, has been added.
- New limited-time seasonal items have been added to Nook Shopping.
- A new feature was added to the NookPhone Camera app, allowing you to turn off the guide information by pressing in the R Stick.
- The “funny glasses” item now matches up with player skin color variations.
Online connectivity features
- A new feature allows you to sleep in a bed and meet Luna. You can upload a dream of your island via the internet or visit other uploaded dream islands.
- New features have been added to the Custom Designs Portal. You can now search by design name or type. You can now create a list of favorite creators.
- A new feature has been added for backing up save data to Nintendo’s servers via the internet. You can use backed up save data with the island backup restoration service if your Nintendo Switch system is lost or broken.
  - You must be a member of Nintendo Switch Online and enable backups within Animal Crossing: New Horizons to use this new feature.
  - Save data cannot be restored at a customer’s discretionary timing. If your system is broken, you must contact Nintendo Support to start a repair request. If you have lost your system, you must contact Nintendo Support.
  - This feature does not allow save data (island data) to be transferred to a different system. We currently plan on adding a save data transfer feature within 2020. Information on the feature and timing will be announced at a future time.
- Learn more about the island backup restoration service.
Fixed issues
- Other adjustments were made to improve the game play experience.