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How to Check How Much Storage a Nintendo Switch Game Download Needs

Check a Nintendo Switch game’s eShop listing for its storage requirement, then compare it with the free space shown in System Settings > Data Management.

By VGSources Team 3 min read
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Check the exact game’s Nintendo eShop listing before downloading or buying its digital version: Nintendo says that listing shows the game’s storage requirement. Then compare it with the free space shown on your console at HOME Menu > System Settings > Data Management. The steps below apply to Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED; Switch 2 has separate microSD requirements.

Find the game’s storage requirement

  1. Open Nintendo eShop and locate the exact game you want.
  2. Read the storage requirement on that game’s listing before purchasing or downloading. Requirements vary by title, and Nintendo advises checking the listing for the digital version. For a physical game, check its packaging instead. Nintendo Support explains where to find a game’s storage requirement.

The figure on the listing is the official place to check, but it should not be treated as a guaranteed prediction of every later storage need. The support guidance does not establish whether a particular listing’s figure accounts for future updates or other changing data. Check the current listing and pay attention to any storage information shown during that game’s download.

Check how much space is free on your Switch

  1. From the HOME Menu, open System Settings.
  2. Select Data Management.
  3. Read the available-space figures at the top of the screen for System Memory and, if a card is inserted, the microSD card.

Nintendo’s instructions for this menu path are in its guide to checking available space on Nintendo Switch.

Compare the requirement with your free space

Compare the game’s stated requirement with the available-space figure on the storage location you plan to use. If the console reports less free space than the game needs, make room or expand storage before downloading. Because the listing figure may not describe later updates or other changing data, use the current listing and any download prompt as your reference rather than assuming the initial figure covers every future need.

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What to do if you do not have enough space

Archive downloaded games you are not playing

Archiving downloaded software removes its software data to free storage while keeping its HOME Menu icon and save data. You can download the software again later. Nintendo describes the option in its Data Management FAQ.

Use a compatible microSD card

On Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED, a microSD card can store downloaded software, software updates, and downloadable content. Nintendo lists microSD cards up to 2 GB, microSDHC cards from 4 GB to 32 GB, and microSDXC cards from 64 GB to 2 TB as supported. It recommends UHS-I compatibility and a transfer speed of 60–95 MB/sec; a system update is required for microSDXC. These are Nintendo’s compatibility recommendations, not a ranking of particular retail cards. See the Nintendo microSD Card FAQ for details.

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Choose capacity based on the games and other content you expect to keep downloaded; Nintendo does not name one ideal capacity for every player. Nintendo also recommends using one card with the console, since content stored across multiple cards cannot later be combined onto one card.

Keep save data separate from game storage

Save data is stored in System Memory and cannot be copied or saved to a microSD card. Adding a card can make room for software, updates, and DLC, but it does not move save data off the console’s internal memory. Nintendo covers this distinction in its Data Management FAQ.

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Scope: these card details are not for Switch 2

The compatibility guidance here is for Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED. Nintendo Switch 2 has separate storage-card requirements, so do not apply the card types and capacity guidance above to that console.

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