Published , by Josh Hawkins
Published , by Josh Hawkins
We’ve all been there. We end up with a new villager that isn’t quite up to what we want – or you’re just looking to make room for one of your favorites. No matter what the reasoning is, being able to kick villagers out of your town in Animal Crossing: New Horizons can be a bit tricky. Thankfully, we can help you sort out all the ways to say goodbye to one of your villagers right here in this handy guide.
When it comes to cleaning up your island, being able to take out all the trash – literally and figuratively – is important. For some, this could even mean replacing some (or many) villagers. If you’re like us, and have your own favorites you want to fill your island with, there are some things you can do to help speed up the process.
There’s a lot of weird mumbo jumbo science surrounding the way that villagers come and go in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. No matter where you read about it, you’re probably bound to see some different explanations and recommendations of how to go about kicking villagers out. Fortunately, most of them are right, though they might not be the best way of doing things.
Make sure you know how to catch a shark to spice up your Museum with even more specimens!
Now, by default, villagers in Animal Crossing have a small chance to move off of your island. This is all based on a timer, which ticks down slowly over time. After a certain amount of days, some villagers may start to think about leaving. When this happens, you can actually talk to them and choose to either talk them into staying or help encourage them to try out other places. If you don’t mind waiting for and unspecified amount of time, then you can kick villagers out using this method. However, if like us, you want to speed up the process a bit, there are some things you can do.
First, ignore the villager that you want to move out. This is believed to speed up the process a bit, though there isn’t any exact confirmation on it. This means pretending that this villager doesn’t exist, all while continuing to talk to and give gifts to the other villagers on your island. Again, there’s no guarantee on when the villager will decide to move out, but at least you can possibly speed the process up some.
Next up is the amiibo camper way. Thanks to the power of amiibo and amiibo cards, players can actually get access to hundreds of villagers all without having to wait on the game to bless you with the one you want. The downside is you’ll have to purchase an amiibo card or even an amiibo, which can be quite costly depending on the card or amiibo you decide to get. You’ll also need to wait until you’ve already filled up all ten slots for your villagers if you don’t have any free lots.
Once you have an amiibo or an amiibo card, head to the Residential Services Building. The option to use amiibo cards won’t become available until you craft the campsite and have at least one visitor to it. Interact with the Nook Terminal inside of Residential Services and choose to invite a camper using an amiibo. Swipe the amiibo over the controller where it tells you to, and then you’ll call up the amiibo of your choice. The campsite must be empty to do this.
When that villager arrives, head to the campsite and talk to them. You’ll need to complete a 3-step process. Basically, invite the preferred villager to your campsite three days in a row. Each day, talk to the villager and complete the chore that they give you. On the third or fourth day, talk to them again, and this time keep talking to them until they ask to move to the island.
If you already have a full island (ten villagers), then they will return to the campsite upset, stating that Residential Services said there is no more room on the island. Don’t fret, though. You can then talk to them again and start up the negotiation system, which allows you to choose a villager to get to move. The villager in your campsite will then go to the resident and talk to them, and they’ll agree to give up their spot. It’s a bit of a process, but it at least gives you some control over who becomes a resident on your island.
It is believed by some that hitting villagers with your net, pushing them around, and just being rude to them will cause them to leave sooner. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to confirm that any of these methods actually make a difference, so we’d suggest going with the above information if you want to clear out some unwanted residents.
Now that you know how to kick villagers out, be sure to head back over to our Animal Crossing: New Horizons guide for even more helpful info and content.