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Swimming comes to Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The free Summer Update arrived on Friday and lets you explore the sea around your island.

Sean Keane Former Senior Writer
Sean knows far too much about Marvel, DC and Star Wars, and poured this knowledge into recaps and explainers on CNET. He also worked on breaking news, with a passion for tech, video game and culture.
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Sean Keane
2 min read
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Time to explore the ocean in Animal Crossing: New Horizon. Hope you like my swimsuit.

Nintendo/Screenshot by Sean Keane/CNET

If you've been wanting to take a dip off the coast of your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island as its Wedding Season event draws to a close, Nintendo's got you covered. The ability to swim came to the Switch megahit's free Summer Update on Friday.

"Put on your wet suit to dive & swim in the ocean, and even meet new characters!" the company tweeted last week.

The update adds the ability to swim and dive, after which you can donate any sea creatures you pick up to Blathers' museum. You'll also be able to give scallops you find to Pascal -- a sea otter who previously appeared in Wild World, City Folk and New Leaf -- and he'll fork over some marine-themed recipes.

Once you've bought some fetching new swimwear from the shop or Nook Stop, you can hop into the ocean from the beach, pier or rocks, then swim as far as a boundary a few meters off coast. So you won't get lost in the great blue beyond, but you can't check out those intriguing islands on the horizon. If you spot bubbles rising to the surface, diving will give you the chance to meet a new creature.

Read more: The fun never stops in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It's a problem

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Gulliver, the seafaring seagull who occasionally washes up on your island and needs you to help call his exhausted shipmates for a rescue, will have a new pirate outfit. Yarrr indeed.

The July Summer Update will be followed by another one in early August -- who can even tell what island delights that'll bring?

Watch this: Maximize your time in Animal Crossing: New Horizons