New Horizons update sparks frog chair vs. big man bench battle

Animal Crossing's Froggy Chair is a series staple and the source of countless memes. The game was first introduced in the original title and has survived through numerous (5) generations of games.

The Froggy chair is Animal Crossing's most popular piece of furniture, but it's now in serious danger of being dethroned. After the surprise announcement of Animal Crossing: New Horizons' massive 3.0 update, there may be a new king of seats in town with the crowd-pleasing Big Man bench.

Frog Chair vs. Big Man Bench is the battle that will dominate 2026

The frog chair is iconic, but it was barely included in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The released version of the game had no seats. However, after much anxiety from fans, it was added in the second major update. Without it, there would have been no battle of the giants that we see today.

In an incredible 12-minute trailer released by Nintendo yesterday for the next big update to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the company revealed massive crossovers with Lego, The Legend of Zelda, and Splatoon. This is where our new beloved bench comes from.

The Big Man Bench, priced at 3,330 bells, is a bench modeled after the Big Man style from the Splatoon series. For those of you who don't know, the Big Man is a giant manta ray, and this bench was instantly popular because it had the exact same shape.

Animal's Big Man Bench that crosses new horizons.

Social media was immediately flooded with posts, with many declaring the Big Man bench to be “the bench of the day” while many were quick to trash the Froggy Chair as “the chair of history.” The Froggy Chair, once the master of memes, has been pushed aside in favor of its successor, at least while excitement is building.

But some moved quickly from the Froggy Chair, while others went on the defensive. On Reddit, ellamachine asked, “Why are we pitting two bad bitches against each other?” Timely-Cancel921 added: “The frog chair is og. Nothing can replace him.”

Whatever the result, this is something to pay attention to next year.