There was never any hope for AC in Spring 2026, it's a game that is huge in terms of content because that are so many items, dialogues and animals to design and develop that I think it's right now the 2nd longest Nintendo IP to develop
But we for sure are getting a new AC this generation. If they had intention to keep milking current AC we would have got new (paid) updates regularly. This one is selling for a mere 5 USD and that are even some free updates. They just wanted to give people some incentive to keep playing it on Switch 2 to increase the hardware's value
Considering New Horizons was out only 3 years after Switch 1 launch, 2028 to 2029 looks doable for a new Animal Crossing







