How To Redownload Games On Nintendo Switch? | 4 Easy Steps!

The Nintendo Switch is a cool console on which you can play various games anytime. An excellent method to collect your favorite games is to purchase a physical copy of each game. However, this is not always available. So you may want to download your games digitally. 

First, we’ll discuss how you can download, archive, and delete games on your Nintendo Switch. After that, we’ll show you how you can redownload games on your consoles in 4 easy steps. With that being said, let’s get right into it!

Flickr Image by Daniel Lee

How To Download Games On Nintendo Switch

It’s possible to use the Nintendo Account to buy games from the Nintendo eShop once you’ve created one. Any game you buy on your console is linked to your account and is playable on the primary console. Downloading games on your Nintendo Switch is super easy—just follow these steps simple below:

1. Link any Nintendo Account to the console
2. Go to the Nintendo eShop
3. Choose the Nintendo Account
4. Select the game
5. Download the game by choosing ‘Free Download’ or buy the game by choosing ‘Proceed to Purchase’ 
6. There are four options for buying games—Paypal, debit/credit card, eShop gift card, or Nintendo Points- all acceptable payment methods.
7. Choose the method you want to use for payment, then link it to the Nintendo Account.
8. After confirming the purchase, your game will start downloading immediately and appear on your Home screen once it’s ready.

How To Archive Games On Nintendo Switch

Archiving is not the same as deleting games on Switch. Archiving games leaves the icons of these games as shortcuts on your Home screen so you can re-download them anytime you want. So, if you think you’d like to play a certain game again, you should archive it instead of deleting it. However, if you archived the game after downloading it, it won’t be playable until you redownload.

Follow these steps to archive any game on your Switch console:

1. Highlight the game 
2. Press the minus or plus button
3. From your menu, choose ‘Manage Software’
4. Choose ‘Archive Software’
5. To confirm your choice, choose ‘Archive’  

By archiving a game, it will be uninstalled, and its icon will be left on your Home screen in case you decide to download it again. And don’t worry, the saved data of your game will not be deleted, so you can always play it again from where you stopped. 

How To Delete Games On Nintendo Switch

While this is not recommended, it is still a great way to free up some space on your console. Deleting games on your console will not cause the saved data of this game to be lost. This method also doesn’t leave any icons on your Home screen, so it’s a good option if you don’t like your Home screen to look messy.

Follow these steps if you want to delete any game on your Nintendo Switch:

1. Highlight the game 
2. Press the minus or plus button
3. From your menu, choose ‘Manage Software’
4. Choose ‘Delete Software’
5. To confirm your choice, choose ‘Delete’  

Since deleting games doesn’t delete their save data,  you can always play it from where you stopped after putting it back on the console. 

How To Delete Save Data On Nintendo Switch

Deleting the game itself is not the only thing you can do to free up some space on your Nintendo Switch console. You can also delete the game save data if you don’t mind losing it. So before you delete any save data, make sure that you are ok with the fact that you can never restore it. 

Follow these steps if you want to delete the save data of any game:

1. From your Home screen, choose ‘Settings’
2. Choose ‘Data Management’
3. Choose ‘Delete Save Data’
4. Choose the game
5. Choose the game’s profile, or choose ‘Delete All Save Data’
6. Confirm the delete by selecting ‘Delete Save Data’

How To Redownload Games On Nintendo Switch

Since Switch doesn’t have a list of all of your games like Steam, Xbox One, and PS4, you will need to search through the Nintendo eShop profile to reinstall games. Follow these steps if you want to reinstall any game on Switch:

1. Enter the Nintendo eShop
2. Tap on the avatar of your account
3. Choose ‘Redownload’ after scrolling down
4. You’ll find a Cloud symbol to the right of all games. Tap on the symbol to the right of the one you wish to reinstall. 

And that’s it. Easy peasy! 

How To Buy Games with Another Account

You have two options to buy games with another account. The first one is deleting the account. And the second option is deactivating the primary Nintendo Switch console.

• Deleting Your User Account

Before deleting your user account, you should know first that the account’s save data will be deleted if you delete your user account—you can’t restore the save data after that by any means. Additionally, you can’t delete the Nintendo Account if the user account is connected to it. And you won’t be able to play the games on your account if you don’t link another user account with the Nintendo Account.

Here’s how you can delete your user account:

1. On your Home page, choose ‘System Settings’ 
2. Select ‘Users’ and enter your ‘Profile Settings’ after choosing a user account
3. Select ‘Delete User’ after scrolling down
4. Choose ‘Next’ after checking the box.
5. If you have a linked Nintendo Account, delete this link by choosing ‘Confirm’
6. Select ‘Unlike’
7. Choose ‘OK’

Check your previously purchased games and see if your game is listed there. If it’s not, it means you used another Nintendo Account to buy this game. In this case, you can follow the steps using another account you have on your console to see if this is the one you bought the game with or not. 

2. Deactivating the Primary Nintendo Switch Console

Deactivating the primary Nintendo Switch console is a simple procedure that can be done via the console’s settings. It is possible to do that without accessing the primary console, but you’re only allowed to do that once in 12 months. 

It is possible to choose another Nintendo Switch console to be your primary one, which is done through deactivating 1 Nintendo Switch console. You can enjoy this feature if you reside in a country where you can access the Nintendo eShop.

Nothing works? We recommend that you contact the support team via this link Here.