Animal Crossing: New Horizons villager apparently named after internet-famous grandma who loves New Leaf

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The 88-year-old woman who made internet fame for playing an absurd amount of Animal Crossing: New Leaf has now been immortalized in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (opens in new tab), or so it seems.

As seen in Nintendo World Report’s review (opens in new tab) of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and first spotted by Reddit (opens in new tab), there seems to be an animal named after the Animal Crossing grandma’s in-game name. You can see a comparison shot of the adorable grandma’s New Leaf character and a wolf with the same name in New Horizons.

Paul Hubans took to Twitter last year to share his 87-year-old (now 88) grandma Audrey’s Animal Crossing: New Leaf activity log, which showed a staggering 3,580 hours played over four years. Hubans later took to YouTube (opens in new tab) to introduce his grandma and allow her to give a tour of her town, setting the internet alight with adoration. That video has since attracted nearly 9.5 million views, with the third most popular comment imploring Nintendo to make a character out of “Mayor Audie” in New Horizons.

My 87-year-old grandma has played Animal Crossing New Leaf on her 3DS every single day for the past 4 years now.Her 3DS finally broke this year, so we got her a new one for Christmas. During a system transfer I checked her activity log: pic.twitter.com/R33KycrW4qJanuary 1, 2019

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Evidently, Nintendo appreciates Audrey’s love for Animal Crossing just as much as her adoring fans. There’s always a chance it’s merely a coincidence, but given the amount of attention Paul Hubans and his grandma Audrey received last year, it’s more likely Nintendo added her into the game in tribute. 

Hubans tweeted (opens in new tab) his response to his grandma apparently being featured in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, writing, “Thanks for all the kind messages regarding my wonderful grandmother with regard to her inclusion in the new Animal Crossing game. I choked up when I saw it.”

You and me both, Paul.

If you’ve decided you can’t wait until Friday to play New Horizons, there’s hope that GameStop might be in talks with Nintendo to release the life sim early (opens in new tab).