How to move Switch games to SD card

Although the Nintendo Switch takes cartridges, it’s often a lot easier and cheaper to buy them digitally. Downloading games instantly is great but the console can quickly get full up so here’s how to move some games to the microSD card.

It’s understandable if your Nintendo Switch storage is full. It only has 32GB of space and games like Zelda Breath of the Wild take up 13GB of that alone. The Switch doesn’t come with a memory card but you can but microSD cards cheaply.

The process of transferring a game to the SD used to be a little bit tricky. Nintendo has made it much easier but we’re still here to guide you through the process.

If you need a microSD card then you can find one in our round-up. Officially, Nintendo recommends a UHS-I (Ultra High Speed Phase I) card and a transfer speed 60-95MBps. You can even buy official microSD cards made by SanDisk if you like.

How to move Switch games to SD card

Once you’ve bought a microSD card and inserted it (turn the console off and you’ll find the slot under the kickstand), follow these simple steps to move games from the internal storage to the memory card.

1. Open System Settings from your Switch’s Home screen (the cog wheel)
2. Scroll down and choose Data Management
3. Select ‘Move data between console/microSD card’
4. Choose ‘Move to microSD card’
5. Select the game(s) you want to transfer
6. Click ‘Move Data’

Now the game will download to your microSD card or you can use the tool to move data the other way, too. Just bear in mind that game save data will still be stored on the console’s local storage, it cannot be moved to the card.