Last year, DOOM Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons both released on the same day, March 20. Inspired by this lesser connection, fans of the two franchises began to share online art of a friendship between Isabelle from Animal Crossing and the Destruction Hunter. Both Bethesda and Nintendo are aware of this fan art, and even encouraged it! To celebrate the beginning of 2021, Bethesda has made things a little more official, sharing an image of the Nendoroid figures for Doom Slayer and Isabelle playing happily together alongside the caption “happy new horizons.” It is a joyful way to celebrate the New Year and it made the fans of friendship very happy!
Bethesda’s tweet can be found below. The same image and message were also shared by the official DOOM Twitter account.
happy new horizons pic.twitter.com/bnj8keI3l0
– Bethesda (@bethesda) January 1, 2021
It will be interesting to see if the friendship between Doom Slayer and Isabelle is recognized within a real game or not. Although it looks pretty silly in a DOOM or Animal Crossing game, there is a place where it can work: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. There have long been rumors about the Doom Slayer game, and it seems even more likely after Microsoft’s purchase of Bethesda. The publisher already has two fighters in the game, and companies like Capcom, Konami and Square Enix have three representatives, so it would not be outside the realm of possibilities. With Isabelle being a playable character in Final, it’s not hard to imagine how much the fans would love to see the duo really show up together!
For now, the friendship between Isabelle and Doom Slayer will simply have to survive through these small recognitions between the two companies, and through the fan art that made it one thing in the first place. There is something to be said for how fans made this connection between the two franchises, and how it went from a simple joke almost a year ago, to a recurring connection between the two companies. Even if nothing else comes of it, it is good to see the influence that fans can have in the games!
Are you a fan of the cross art of the two franchises? Would you like to see Doom Slayer and Isabelle appear together in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about games!