>>43239665We've been promised updates and some data on characters have already been found it data mines; so there is a good chance we'll be getting most, if not all, of those characters in the future. I doubt it's even a 'development crunch' sort of thing either. The Animal Crossing Team have always been about the games having a slow burn, so now that they can control the game with updates, they can dictate how fast we play, to an extent.
Plus, there is a vague, overarching lore to Animal Crossing, and certain characters are getting older and replaced by newer ones, but even then, the older characters are still referenced, so they still have potential to appear, even if in a new role.
Only 4 NPCs have never returned after their introduction, with their purpose either being fulfilled by other characters or it's features being dedicated to that game.
A good handful of Villagers have been tossed aside, but it's usually either because they're a licensed character or a newer villager was too similar to an older one. Unlike Pokemon though, there's not a huge difference between two peppy blue cows, like there is with half the roster being nuked.
Anything removed from Animal Crossing doesn't effect the gameplay in any meaningful manner; a lack of Pokemon does.
