Here’s how to play Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp right now

Earlier this week we saw Nintendo reveal more details about Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, its latest mobile game.

The Japanese company revealed that the free-to-play game would be coming to Android and iOS next month. But it seems like the beta version has soft-launched in Australia already, and the APK file has since emerged online.

Keen to get your hands on it? Well, you can find it via the ever-reliable (but unofficial) APKMirror website. Do be warned that this isn’t the Nintendo-backed way to get the game so don’t be surprised if they crack down. Additionally, the game can’t be updated via the Play Store if you choose this route. In other words, it’s not a long-term solution, but it’s a way to try out the game, at the very least.

In any event, you’ll want to enable installation of apps from unknown sources (usually found under your phone’s security settings) before downloading the APK file. Once you’ve downloaded the file, weighing in at about 55MB, you’ll need to download an extra 83MB or so.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is available to play if you don’t mind sideloading the app

Once this is completed, you can go about customising your character and completing the initial tutorial, followed by downloading over 70MB more data (interestingly, this download screen includes a bell collecting minigame).

The game itself doesn’t seem to stray too far from the original formula, although there is an emphasis on inviting animals to your campsite, as well as “timed goals” to be completed. The latter is rather strange at first glance, given the franchise’s generally free-form nature. Anyway, there isn’t a huge overworld like the previous games, with many much smaller hubs to be had. You’ll be travelling between these hubs with your camper van, with a few seconds of loading between each.

As for the Leaf Tickets, which can be bought with real cash? Well, it seems like they’re used to speed things up, such as when you order furniture to be made.