Animal Crossing players celebrated Isabelle’s birthday, because the game just plain forgot

Isabelle Morning announcement
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Animal Crossing fans came together last weekend to celebrate Isabelle’s birthday after realising that there was no acknowledgement of the special day anywhere in the game. Many players organised their own festivities and voiced on social media how unfair it was to not give them the option to honour the occasion.

If it wasn’t already obvious enough, Animal Crossing fans are passionate people. So when it turned out that Isabelle, who is essentially the backbone of everyone’s island, didn’t even get a mention on her birthday, fans were quick to celebrate her in their own ways.

Many threw her birthday parties and invited other islanders to join them on Harv’s Island (an area where players can set up photoshoots using Amiibo cards), some wrote well wishes on the bulletin board and others visited Isabelle in Resident Services to attempt to wish her a happy birthday. 

Isabelle has quickly become a very important character in the Animal Crossing series after joining the game in Animal Crossing New Leaf in 2013. Her role began as a sort of secretary to the Mayor (a role players took on in New Leaf) who basically did all the important things for you whilst you spent your days catching fish, writing letters, and designing your home.  These days Isabelle has a slightly more relaxed role in Animal Crossing: New Horizons where she assists players in the smooth running of their island.

This coupled with the fact that all other NPCs in the game (not including ones with job roles eg: Able Sisters & Tom Nook) get a birthday shout-out from Isabelle has left fans sympathising for the hard-working Shih Tzu. 

We all know though that this modest character would just end her own birthday announcement with her usual “oh dear. I guess that doesn’t really qualify as “news”, does it?”

If you've forgotten to gift your family this Christmas, why not take a look at our best gifts for gamers.

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at 12DOVE before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

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
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip
A misty, forested mountainside in Prologue: Go Wayback!
PUBG creator's wilderness survival game actually draws inspiration from an unexpected place - a whole raft of zombie games like DayZ, Project Zomboid, and Left 4 Dead
The Blood of Dawnwalker: A screenshot of the vampire Brencis holding up a crown during the trailer for the upcoming game.
The Witcher 3 devs created a Jekyll & Hyde-style character for their new vampire RPG "because nobody yet has done that"
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil fans are wondering if Born Again season 2 will set up a darker comic book arc for Matt Murdock
Theo James as Hal in Osgood Perkins' The Monkey
It might only be March, but Stephen King adaptation The Monkey is now the highest grossing horror movie of 2025
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of card packs
Balatro creator initially considered a Steam release in part to help "get a game developer job somewhere," and after 5 million sales I'd say he found one