Animal Crossing Build-A-Bear plushies are already selling out on pre-orders

Never mind trying to get hold of a PS5 or Xbox Series X, the hottest video game related pre-order at the moment is… a cuddly Tom Nook?

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is over a year old now and its popularity shows no sign of abating, especially if the rush for Build-A-Bear versions of its most famous characters is anything to go by.

The pre-orders went live at 4pm BST and the queuing system is just like trying to order a next gen console, complete with warnings of a one hour wait.

We’re currently sitting in the queue waiting to see what happens, along with everyone else, so at the moment it’s unclear how much the toys are and exactly which characters are available – but it seems as if the initial selection is Tom Nook and Isabelle.

There’s already a Pokémon collection, so using that as a basis for the price of licensed characters the Animal Crossing ones will probably be between £40 and £50, with the option to buy additional extras.

It’s unclear exactly how many characters are going to be part of the range, but promotional artwork implies that K. K. Slider, Blathers the owl, Timmy and Tommy Nook, and Mable the hedgehog will also be available at some point.

How to order an Animal Crossing Build-A-Bear

To join the pre-order queue in the UK use this link and enter the waiting room when you see the sign for it on the main page. Alternatively, the US page is here.

As with any pre-order system, you might be in for a long wait and there’s no guarantee stock won’t sell out before you get your chance. Either way, the toys aren’t expected to be released until this summer.

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