Given the sheer magnitude of Animal Crossing‘s popularity (New Horizons is currently sitting pretty at 46.45 million units sold on Switch), it’s no surprise that other companies will want to take a peek at Nintendo’s homework and conjure up something similar.
The latest effort is seemingly cooking away within the walls of Ubisoft, as a new report from Insider Gaming suggests that the company is hard at work on a new social-sim project by the codename of ‘Alterra’. It’s said to be inspired by Animal Crossing while utilising a voxel-based visual setup (think The Touryst and you’ll be on the right track).
Essentially, then, Alterra will see players build up their home life on an island inhabited by creatures called Matterlings. Unlike Animal Crossing, however, you’ll be able to visit different biomes, encounter enemies, gather unique materials, and more. Disturbingly, the Matterlings have been compared to Funko Pop figures in their design, boasting large heads whilst resembling both fictiional and real-life creatures (dragons, polar bears, etc).
With production supposedly being headed up by Patrick Redding (Gotham Knights) over at Ubisoft Montreal, it’s likely the game is still a few years off at this point. Social-sims are kind of an evergreen genre, but one does wonder whether or not Ubisoft can really make a splash with its own take on an Animal Crossing-inspired title.
If it’s real, it’s likely headed directly for Nintendo’s upcoming ‘Switch 2’, though we’d be surprised if Nintendo isn’t already knee-deep on development for its own ‘next-gen’ Animal Crossing. Frankly, Ubisoft will need to come out with something spectaular if it hopes to compete.
We’ve reached out to Ubisoft for comment and will update this article should it provide further information.
