Animal Crossing: New Horizons – How to Have an Alien Encounter

Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons is all about recruiting visitors to one’s island; however, some players may not realize that such unexpected encounters can include aliens. Players can encounter a broadcast on a TV that might enable them to spot this easter egg. If players don’t already have a TV, they will need to craft one using a recipe from one of the neighbors or purchase it from Nook. There’s also a chance the recipe for the television might show up on the beach in a bottle.

This is not the first time players can spot Aliens in Animal Crossing, as it also appeared in New Leaf. It worked in a similar manner, albeit on a different day. Nevertheless, players can spot the Alien and the UFO in Animal Crossing: New Horizon if they follow the below steps.

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How To Spot The Alien & UFO in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The creepy alien broadcast in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is only accessible on Saturdays and occurs for one minute at 3:33 am. The Easter egg also requires a player to have a TV in their home. At exactly 3:33 am, the TV static reveals what is clearly an alien figure who appears to be talking.

The late nature of the Animal Crossing alien event — and the fact that it only occurs once a week — likely has prevented the occurrence from being more widely known. Also, TVs are not necessarily an easy piece of furniture to obtain in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Thankfully, if players do possess a TV, staying up past 3 in the morning isn’t required: experiencing the event is as easy as changing the Switch’s date and time in system settings.

The alien broadcast in New Horizons is not the first time aliens have been featured in the Animal Crossing franchise. The alien broadcast originates in New Leaf when a similar “show” was broadcast on the TV at 3:33 am on Sundays and Mondays. This ship is actually piloted by Gulliver, who will reward the player with an item for helping him repair his “UFO.”

The alien broadcast in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is simply a fun Easter egg for players to experience; there are no items or materials that can be gained for the experience, nor is it possible to have aliens physically visit one’s island.