How to get Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp on your iPhone right now

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is available to play on iOS for those who live in Australia — and, with a simple trick, anyone else around the world.

People have been using alternate Apple IDs to gain access to games and apps in different regions for years and, fortunately for us, nothing has changed with various iOS updates. If you’re aching to get your hands on Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp early, here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to grab it. If you’re willing to wait, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will be available to download worldwide in late November.

Step 1: Log out of your current account

If you have an Apple ID, you’re going to need to sign out of it first. Open Settings and click on your name at the very top. That will open up a new window. Scroll to the very bottom and sign out of your current Apple ID account.

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Step 2: Open the App store

Once you’ve signed out, you’ll have to go into the App Store and attempt to download a free game or app. This will prompt a new message to pop up asking you to sign into or create a new Apple ID.

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Step 3: Create a new email account

Using Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail or whatever other email client you want to use, create a totally new account. You’ll need this to verify your new Apple ID username once it’s created.

Julia Alexander/Polygon

Step 4: Choosing your country

This is the most important step you’ll be faced with. You’ll be asked to choose what country you live in. Be sure to hit Australia. That’s the only country that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is currently live in.

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Step 5: Billing information

This is the second most important part of setting up your new Apple ID. You’ll see three payment options: credit card, PayPal and none. Choose none. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a free download, which is how we can do this. You won’t be able to link the credit card or PayPal account associated with your current country.

Step 6: Email verification

This is when your new email address comes into play. You’ll have to log into that account to verify your new Apple ID. Once you hit the verify link, you may be asked to sign in again. Do this.

Step 7: Back to the app store

Once you reopen the Australian App Store, you should see Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp on the front page. If it’s not there, just search it. You’ll be able to download the game and play. There are some elements of the game that you won’t be able to access without a credit card, like in-game purchases, so consider this a lite version of the game until it’s available wherever you live.

Julia Alexander/Polygon

And voila! There you have it. This process isn’t illegal, and you won’t have to worry about your account getting dinged by Apple. But any progress you make in the game may not carry over when you switch back to your own Apple ID, where your contacts and other information is stored. If you also choose to link your Nintendo account, you won’t be able to link progress made in your game to your Australian account. Any rewards you receive won’t carry over. Keep that in mind when you’re thinking about downloading the game. If you decide to move forward, dedicate about five minutes to complete this process and get to the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp screen. There are additional methods players are using to get the game on Android devices.