In only three months, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold 22.4 million units, according to Nintendo’s most recent financial data.

This makes the game the second-highest selling game on the Nintendo Switch, only behind Mario Kart 8 Deluxe by around 4 million units. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is also the second highest-selling game of 2020, behind 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Half of the sales came in the first 11 days after launch, making the game the fastest-seller in the Nintendo Switch’s lifetime and one of the fastest-selling games of all time. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has also generated more revenue than every other game in the franchise combined.

The success of Nintendo’s landmark title skyrocketed profits. Nintendo’s operating profits are up 428 percent year on year and the Nintendo Switch has sold 5.68 million units in Q1 of 2020. Nintendo states that half of these new Switch owners played Animal Crossing: New Horizons as their first game, proving that Tom Nook and crew were the catalysts for the company’s success.

The game released at a perfect time for Nintendo. The world began a global lockdown due to COVID-19, and people needed something to do. Animal Crossing: New Horizons offered a jolly escape from the terrors of a global pandemic. Switches began to fly off of the shelves, resulting in shortages similar to the launch year of the console. The game became such mainstream success, that celebrities like Crissy Teigen and Brie Larson gave fans a tour of their island.

The success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Nintendo as a whole, continues the story of 2020 being a terrible year for everyone, but an incredible year for video games. The global pandemic created a boom for the games industry in an unprecedented way. Three out of four Americans are now playing video games and US spending on video games hit a 10 year high. Even with Nintendo’s quiet release schedule, compared to years prior, profits skyrocketed.

Fans continue to beg for information on announced titles like Metroid Prime 4 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, but Nintendo seems to be in no rush. The stratospheric sales numbers give Nintendo a nice cushion to take their time on major releases, as they won’t be strapped for cash any time soon.

Sources: Nintendo