Nintendo confirms Animal Crossing: New Horizons players will share a single island.
The game will support up to 8 registered players and up to 4 residents simultaneously on the same Nintendo Switch console players sharing a single island.
Nintendo in a press release detailing New Horizons inspired console:
“Please note: only one island can exist per Nintendo Switch console, irrespective of the number of users registered to or copies of the game used on one console”
Note that since the data is saved internally on the Switch, swapping SD cards will not act as a workaround as it's strictly up to 8 players per island.“One Nintendo Switch and one copy of the game is required for each unique island. Alternatively, up to eight people can play together on one island via local wireless or online play. Local wireless play requires one console and one copy of the software per player.”
Animal Crossing: New Horizons releases on Nintendo Switch March 20th, 2020.