New Animal Crossing patch tries fixing the broken bell economy

Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ big Earth Day update went live a little earlier than expected, and in addition to bringing in new vendors like Leif the sloth, the patch also tries putting a band-aid on the game’s hyper-inflated economy.

When you log in, your mailbox should contain a new letter from the Bank of Nook which informs you that from now on, the interest rate earned on stored bells will go down. The letter is apologetic, offering players a gift in exchange for the “inconvenience.” It’s ... a giant bell bag rug! No specific numbers are shared, but basically, you’ll make a little less money.

Why would Nintendo do this? Well, it’s no secret that the Animal Crossing economy is hilariously easy to game right now. Thanks to websites like turnip.exchange, you can always find an island with a great veggie-buying price. Or maybe you have a good network of friends who can offer you constant access to special events? Maybe you went ham on tarantula island? Perhaps you, like many others, duplicated the heck out of some high-priced items back before that exploit was patched out? Maybe you’re time traveling your way to riches?

Truly, the avenues for becoming a bellionare are vast. While it’s unlikely that many folks wholly relied on the bank interest to rake in the bells, it’s one of the few things Nintendo does have control over. I’m guessing this will do little to stop folks from having millions in the bank, though.

That said, if you download the latest update, you should also get a letter from Nintendo with a world map that you can hang in your house.

You can read more about what’s in the big April update here.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated what was possible during multiplayer visits.