How to gameshare on Nintendo Switch

When the Nintendo Switch OLED hit the market, it might cause a small dilemma to those who already have a Switch in their collection: which console do I play my games on?

Since the Nintendo Switch uses both game cartridges and digitally downloaded titles, sharing games between devices isn’t as simple as removing the game and inserting it into another device for many users.

With Nintendo Switch Online, players can cloud save their game progress, which does allow them to switch over to a different device down the line. But true game sharing isn’t so simple.

How to gameshare on Nintendo Switch

Right now there is no true Nintendo-supported method to gameshare between two Nintendo Switch devices. There are ways you can do it to some extent but proceed at your own risk.

If you’ve purchased a digital title, the way to share it between two consoles will require you to register your Nintendo Switch Online account between both consoles. This can cause data loss in some situations, so be wary of the risks before proceeding.

• You’ll only be able to play the game on one console at any given time. This means you can’t use this process to co-op play the same game, for example.
• Do not delete your user profile on the original Switch, or you’ll lose your game save data. During this process, you’ll want to deregister the NSO account, not delete the profile from your console.
• Only games that support cloud data will carry backups between consoles. Those that do not support cloud backup will cause you to lose your saved data if a different device is given the Primary role, so be very mindful of this before proceeding.
• The secondary Switch device will always need internet access to access games. But the primary will function as usual both offline and online.

Here’s the process if you’ve assessed the risk and would still like to continue.

1. First, purchase the game you’re looking to share digitally from the Nintendo eShop
2. Next, you’ll need to deregister your primary Nintendo Switch console from your Nintendo Switch Online account. This can be done in the user profile tab.
3. Now, sign in to your Nintendo account on the second Switch, which will make this the primary console, by creating a new user within the System Settings. Make sure this is the device you plan on using on the go or more often. On this device, head to the store and redownload the game you had just purchased.
4. Finally, return to the original Switch and sign back into your account, making it the secondary console. Head to the store and redownload the game on this device also.