Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise players "may experience bugs" if airport gates are left open

Animal Crossing: New Horizons
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Animal Crossing New Horizons' first and final paid DLC, Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise, has only just gone live, but it seems some players have uncovered a troublesome bug with the new content. 

It's a peculiarly specific issue, but if you ask to remodel a resident's home whilst your airport gates are open, you "may experience gameplay bugs".

"Animal Crossing New Horizons players who own the Happy Home Paradise DLC may experience gameplay bugs if they visit Resident Services and ask to remodel a resident’s home while the gates at their airport are open," Nintendo explained via a thread on Twitter yesterday.

"We recommend players to not attempt to remodel an island resident’s home while the gates at their airport are open. As long as the airport gates are closed, you should not encounter these gameplay bugs when remodeling residents’ homes on your island."

If you do happen to trigger the bug, Nintendo suggests you "end your play session, close the game and re-launch it", assuring players that "your save file will not be affected". 

Nintendo apologized for the issue and says a patch to fix this issue will be released this month, but stopped short of confirming when the patch might be available, or how, exactly, the bugs manifest in the game. 

Did you know that thousands of new Animal Crossing: New Horizons items were prematurely revealed earlier this week courtesy of a massive datamine?

Nosing behind the scenes of Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0 update – which went live a little ahead of schedule on November 4 – curious Islanders have discovered over 9,000 new items hidden away in the fresh update for New Horizons. And no, that's not a typo – we do mean nine thousand. The collection includes sunglasses, masks, backpacks, clothing items, new framed photos of your favorite Villagers, and other assorted items buried within the brand-new update.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons tips | Animal Crossing: New Horizons fish guide | Animal Crossing: New Horizons bugs guide | Animal Crossing: New Horizons amiibo support explained | Animal Crossing Sanrio amiibo cards and items | Animal Crossing: New Horizons flowers guide | Animal Crossing: New Horizons sea creatures guide | How to improve your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island rating | Upcoming Animal Crossing: New Horizons events | Animal Crossing: New Horizons turnips | KK Slider secret songs in Animal Crossing | Animal Crossing: New Horizons golden tools | Animal Crossing: New Horizons secrets 

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, 12DOVE

Vikki Blake is 12DOVE's Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter. 

Read more
Stardew Valley
"I'm very ashamed to say this": Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone warns players to avoid certain areas thanks to a major Nintendo Switch bug
Anime Life Sim
After unsuccessfully attempting to launch a Monster Hunter clone, this controversial dev is now supposedly releasing an Animal Crossing-like game on PS5
The Sims 4 screenshot showing a young woman with shoulder-length wavy brown hair and an academic green coat, her expression surprised
New Sims 4 update adds burglars, customizable tattoos – and a "horrific bug" that makes children pregnant: "This is an actual nightmare"
Stardew Valley
With another "thank you," Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone brings an update arc to a close with "the Switch patch to fix the last Switch patch"
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing's "obscure references" were all "localized out completely" before its debut in the West, as Nintendo felt it needed to "change everything"
Three girls face the camera with big smiles in Animal Crossing New Horizons
15 Games like Animal Crossing that are so wholesome it hurts
Latest in Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing's "obscure references" were all "localized out completely" before its debut in the West, as Nintendo felt it needed to "change everything"
Anime Life Sim
After unsuccessfully attempting to launch a Monster Hunter clone, this controversial dev is now supposedly releasing an Animal Crossing-like game on PS5
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp trailer screenshto showing a chibi-style female character with bobbed brown hair, a yellow flower atop her head, and a chef-like top, smiling with her arms out
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp's new paid version has finally arrived and is microtransaction-free, but fans already miss the old app
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp trailer screenshto showing a chibi-style female character with bobbed brown hair, a yellow flower atop her head, and a chef-like top, smiling with her arms out
As the free-to-play Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp prepares to go offline, Nintendo reveals more on the paid replacement - including its $20 price tag
Galactic Getaway
This multiplayer life sim is like Animal Crossing in outer space with Mario Party minigames, and it's just what I needed this Steam Next Fest
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp trailer screenshto showing a chibi-style female character with bobbed brown hair, a yellow flower atop her head, and a chef-like top, smiling with her arms out
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp players blast "greedy" Nintendo as new items roll out despite the game's imminent shutdown
Latest in News
Jack Quaid in Novocaine
The Boys star Jack Quaid's commitment to the bit is unmatched as his latest marketing stunt for upcoming action movie Novocaine goes viral
Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again had Disney Plus' biggest premiere of 2025, but its viewership is lower than Agatha All Along and The Acolyte
Beyond the Ice Palace 2
After 37 years, this Commodore 64 classic returns with a new Metroidvania sequel that gives serious old-school Castlevania vibes
an ancient spaceship in the pixel art style of ftl
I just watched the first 10 seconds of this indie roguelike’s trailer, and it's not even trying to be subtle about being an unlicensed 40K game
The House of the Dead first look 'Test Subjects'
Resident Evil director offers update on his horror movie adaptation of Until Dawn-sounding video game from over 20 years ago: "It's going to be very, very scary"
Official art for Hopetown, featuring a group of miners looking towards the camera.
The battle to steal the Disco Elysium successor's spotlight continues as former and current ZA/UM devs reveal teasers for their new RPGs simultaneously