How to Play Your Games Across Multiple Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch Consoles
Steps for sharing games across multiple consoles in your household.
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Steps for sharing games across multiple consoles in your household.
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Your game save data, digital games and downloadable content are tied to your Nintendo Account.
If you are replacing a Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch console with a Nintendo Switch 2 console, we recommend that you perform a system transfer to move your data from the original console to your replacement console.
This transfer moves all Nintendo Accounts, user profiles, save data, and Nintendo eShop purchases to the replacement console.
If you are replacing a Nintendo Switch console with another Nintendo Switch console, transfer your user data from the original console to your replacement console.
This will move your Nintendo Account, user, save data and Nintendo eShop purchases to the replacement console.
Data is moved one user at a time, so you can keep other users on the original console.
To play physical game cards on multiple consoles, insert the game card into the console you'd like to use and select the game's icon from the HOME Menu.
Two
If you have two consoles you'd like to use to play your digital games or downloadable content and both of them are available, please follow the virtual game card guide.
If you only have one of the two consoles available and it is not currently one of your consoles that can load virtual game cards, you can enable the online license setting to play digital games and DLC while connected to the internet.
Three or more
If you would like to play your digital games or DLC on more than two consoles, you can enable the online license setting in conjunction with linking two of the consoles to use virtual game card guide. When the online licence setting is enabled, you can play downloaded software or DLC you've purchased while the console is connected to the internet, even if you don't have the virtual game card loaded.
Game save data is associated with your Nintendo Account and the console you use. If you want to use the same save data on different consoles, you can transfer the data or use the Save Data Cloud feature with supported software if you have a Nintendo Switch Online membership.
Transferring save data will remove the save data from the source console and move it to the target console.
You can transfer save data as often as you need.
For details, read How to Transfer Your Save Data To a Nearby Nintendo Switch Console.
If you have a Nintendo Switch Online membership, you can use Save Data Cloud to back up save data from one console and download it on another.
To back up save data:
Using the Nintendo Switch console that has the save data you want to back up, open the game's Options menu and select Save Data Cloud.
Select the desired user, then select Back Up Save Data.
To download save data:
Using the Nintendo Switch console that you want to download the save data to, open the game's Options menu and select Save Data Cloud.
Select the desired user, then select Download Save Data.
For more details, read How to Back Up Save Data on Nintendo Switch and How to Download Save Data Cloud Backups.
To share a physical game with another user, have them insert the game card into the console they'd like to use and select the game's icon from the HOME Menu.
Game save data is associated with the Nintendo Account and the console, not the game card.
If a user wants to use the same save data on different consoles, there are two options:
Save data can be transferred from one console to another nearby console.
If the user has a Nintendo Switch Online membership, they can use Save Data Cloud to back up save data from one console and download it on another.
For more details, read How to Back Up Save Data on Nintendo Switch and How to Download Save Data Cloud Backups.
Digital games and downloadable content are tied to the Nintendo Account that was used to purchase them. Other people can only play your digital content if they are playing on a console where you have loaded the content as a virtual game card, and vice versa.
