Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete
Released 25 October 2017 Developer Nintendo
A phone version of Animal Crossing in which you decorate a campsite, gather materials, fish, craft furniture and make friends with animal characters who visit. It started in 2017 as a free game that needed Nintendo's servers and sold extras; since 2 December 2024 it has been Pocket Camp Complete, a paid game that runs mostly offline and sells nothing further. It suits younger children and families who like gentle decorating games.
How it makes money
Fair: pay clearly, know the ceiling
Pocket Camp Complete is a one-off purchase of A$19.99 on the Apple App Store, with no in-app purchases or subscriptions. It replaced the free-to-play Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, which closed on 28 November 2024. The original made its money from Leaf Tickets (a currency bought with real money that shortened waiting times and bought 'fortune cookie' random items), limited-time furniture and monthly subscription plans from US$2.99 to US$7.99. Complete drops all of that; it launched at US$9.99 for its first two months before rising to US$19.99.
How you pay
- Pay once
Pocket Camp Complete costs A$19.99 on the Australian App Store (22 October 2026). The app description says it keeps the gameplay 'without additional in-game purchases', and the store lists no in-app purchases or subscriptions.
- Editions
A paid re-release of a game that used to be free: launched on 2 December 2024 at US$9.99 for two months, then US$19.99. Existing players could transfer their save data, and some collaboration items, such as the Sanrio collection, were not carried over.
minor part of the game
Used to, but no longer
- Free-to-playremoved
The original Pocket Camp (October 2017 to 28 November 2024) was free to download and made over US$250 million in player spending by November 2021. It was replaced by the paid Complete version on 2 December 2024.
- Game currencyremoved
Leaf Tickets could be earned in play or bought through the app store, and were used to shorten timers, craft without raw materials and buy event furniture and fortune cookies. Complete has no purchasable currency; events award Complete Tickets instead.
- Loot boxesremoved
Fortune cookies, sold for 50 Leaf Tickets or 5,000 Bells, each held 10 limited-edition items of varying rarity. Nintendo withdrew the game from Belgium from 27 August 2019 over loot-box concerns. In Complete, fortune cookies are bought with earned Complete Tickets, not real money.
- Pity timerremoved
Each fortune cookie bought earned a stamp, and a full card of 10 stamps could be swapped for a chosen item from that cookie's set; buying five at once gave a bonus stamp.
- Wait or payremoved
Crafting and other waits ran on real-time timers, and Leaf Tickets could be spent to skip them.
- FOMO timersremoved
Fortune cookies and seasonal furniture were typically available for a limited time, which kept players buying and checking in during events.
- Subscriptionremoved
From November 2019 the original sold monthly plans: the Happy Helper Plan at US$2.99 a month and the Furniture and Fashion Plan at US$7.99, which also gave five fortune cookies a month; a third, the Merry Memories Plan, followed in January 2022. Their features were folded into Complete.
- Always onlineremoved
The free version needed Nintendo's servers and was switched off on 28 November 2024. Complete keeps save data on the device and does not need a constant connection, only occasional ones for the Nintendo Account, time updates and downloads.
What it costs
Price: A$19.99 · everything A$19.99
| What | Where | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket Camp Complete Paid, offline-capable version with no in-app purchases; launched at US$9.99 for two months |
Apple App Store (AU) · iOS ↗ | A$19.99 | Oct 2026 |
Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.
Reviews from across the web
What the critics said
-
7/ 10
Shacknews ↗
Said Complete bundles the old subscription features into one purchase but is largely unchanged from 2017, with thin new social features, so returning players will find little new while newcomers may enjoy it.
Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.
Age ratings
Classification
Age ratings judge content (violence, language, gambling themes). They say little about how hard a game pushes spending — that's what the badges above are for. About rating boards
Safety & parental controls
Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?
- No chat
- No contact with strangers
- No user-made content
- Needs an online account
Complete needs a Nintendo Account and occasional internet connections, but not a constant one, and has no chat. Other players appear through the Whistle Pass, which shows players you have registered, and through Camper Cards that you scan to trade and collect; you cannot create custom designs in the app, only use ones downloaded from New Horizons. The original free game also let random players visit your campsite. The App Store label for Complete lists contact details (name, email, address, phone), game content and a user ID as linked to your account.
Platforms & release
Where you can play it
| Platform | Released | Store |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone and iPad Free-to-play original from October 2017; paid Pocket Camp Complete from 2 December 2024 |
25 October 2017 | Store page ↗ |
| Android phones and tablets Free-to-play original from October 2017; Complete is also available on Android (Pocket Gamer); price not confirmed |
25 October 2017 | — |
Further reading
Facts last checked 22 October 2026. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, apps.apple.com, itunes.apple.com, www.classification.gov.au, www.metacritic.com, www.shacknews.com, www.pocketgamer.com, opencritic.com. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.