Don't Worry, Isabelle Will Still be in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

With maybe the exception of the Smash Bros fighters, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the most exciting thing to come out of the E3 Nintendo Direct. But in all the excitement, we almost overlooked an invaluable aspect of the game: where is Isabelle?

The adorable Shih Tzu joined the Animal Crossing franchise as your mayoral assistant in New Leaf for the 3DS. Since then, she's become a deeply loved and appreciated character. But in the nearly 30 minutes of footage, including a 90-second reveal trailer, she wasn't seen once.



Fear not, good villager. Isabelle isn't gone from the game. Polygon managing editor Chelsea Stark had a chance to speak with game director Aya Kyogoku not long after. And according to them, Isabelle will be there.

At first on the deserted island, you have Tom Nook, Timmy and Tommy, and a few other animals that have moved to the island through Getaway Package with you. Depending on the population, the development level of the island will change, so you may start to see more new characters added to the island.

We want you to look forward to what kind of characters youll be encountering as you play through the game. But one thing that I could definitely say about Isabelle is that as the island develops a little more and it needs a little bit more support then Isabelle might see some sort of use on the island.

In New Horizons, the Nook family plays the role of resident support services. They help both players and animal villagers get set up with a tent, upgrade to a home, and so on. While the details of his assistance aren't terribly clear, this implies that should the island develop enough, Nook would hire Isabelle on as a support assistant.

With this, we can speculate that a number of other classic characters, such as K.K. Slider, Brewster, Blathers, and the Able Sisters will all be introduced in a similar manner. Nook would bring them in as the island finds a need for their respective jobs.

So don't worry, everyone. We haven't lost our favorite assistant. It's a bit of a shame though. I'd have liked to see her take a vacation for once.