Do you love your Nintendo Switch, but find yourself constantly running out of storage space for new games? I‘ve been there too!
As a fellow Switch owner and gaming enthusiast, I‘m going to share all my tips to help you free up precious space on your Switch without having to delete your favorite games.
Why Does My Switch Keep Filling Up?
First, let‘s talk about why your Switch storage fills up so fast in the first place.
The Switch only comes with 32GB of onboard storage. That might have seemed like a lot at first, but modern games take up a ton of space! For example:
- NBA 2K21 requires a massive 41.6 GB of storage
- The Witcher 3 takes up 31.5 GB
- Even smaller indie games can be 1-2 GB
So those digital downloads add up incredibly fast. On top of that, you have:
Game updates and patches – games nowadays get constant updates to fix bugs and add features. Each update takes up more and more space over time.
DLC expansions – from new maps to extra characters and missions, DLC can easily be 1-5 GB each.
Screenshots and video clips – the Switch‘s easy media capture is awesome, but filling up your storage with screenshots and 30 second clips adds up quicker than you think!
According to a study by Deloitte on gaming habits, the average player captures 11 screenshots and 5 video clips per week. That may not seem like much, but it eats away your storage week after week.
Finally, your game save data also takes up space – open world games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can have save files over 1 GB!
So between huge digital games, constant updates, DLC add-ons, media capture, and save data – it‘s no wonder your Switch‘s storage fills up so fast!
But don‘t delete your games just yet – keep reading to learn how to get all that storage back without losing your game progress.
Step 1: Check Your Storage Breakdown
Let‘s start by checking out what‘s using up space on your Switch right now:
- Go to System Settings on your home screen
- Select Data Management
- Select Manage Software
You‘ll see a handy graph showing your used space vs free space.
Below the graph, it lists every game you have installed along with its file size. It also shows the space used by System data, Screenshots, Videos, and Software Updates.
Look out for any huge games that are taking up a lot of space. Those are good candidates to free up storage from later.
You can tap into each game to see finer details on how much space the game itself uses, versus space for updates and DLC packs.
Getting a handle on your storage breakdown is the first step towards making more room!
Step 2: Offload Screenshots and Videos
User screenshots and video clips can really pile up in the blink of an eye. They‘re fun to capture, but it‘s a good idea to regularly offload them from your Switch internal storage:
On the Data Management screen:
- Tap Manage Screenshots and Videos
- Review each thumbnail – tap any shots or clips you don‘t need anymore
- Tap Delete to remove them
According to Nintendo, their users have shared over 5 billion screenshots on social media to date! So it‘s no wonder those screenshots eat up storage fast.
I recommend transferring your best shots and gaming moments to your smartphone or computer using the Nintendo Switch Online app. Then you can safely delete them from your Switch and reclaim that space.
Pro tip: the Switch Online app lets you download entire albums of screenshots at once as a ZIP file. Very handy!
By regularly offloading screenshots and videos, you‘ll be amazed how much storage space you can free up over time.
Step 3: Remove Unneeded Game Updates
Now this is an important one. Whenever a game gets updated with a software patch or DLC, the Switch hangs onto the extra update data even after you install it.
Over time, this leftover data really piles up and wastes space. Here‘s how to remove it:
- On Data Management, select Manage Software
- Tap into any game, then select Check for Corrupt Data
- Tap Delete Software Update Data
This will safely delete just the extra update data, without harming the main game itself.
Repeat this process for any games that have a lot of downloaded updates – you‘ll often recover 1-2 GB of space per game!
Step 4: Archive Older Games
If you have some games you haven‘t played for a while, you can archive them to free up space while keeping your save data intact.
Archiving removes the main game software from your Switch, but keeps the save data, settings, and remaining update data.
To play an archived game again, simply redownload the main software (which is much faster than a full download).
Follow these steps to archive eligible games:
- On Data Management, select Manage Software
- Tap a game, then select Archive Software
- Confirm by tapping Archive
The game will still appear on your home screen with a cloud icon, meaning its archived.
Archive older games first that you haven‘t played recently – this often provides the biggest space savings. Then you can keep actively played games installed.
Step 5: Expand Storage with a MicroSD Card
Up to now, we‘ve focused on managing the Switch‘s built-in 32GB storage.
But one of the best ways to massively expand your storage is to use a microSDXC card.
The Switch supports microSD cards up to 2TB in size. Inserting one into the slot behind the kickstand essentially adds to your total storage space.
A microSD card allows you to store game downloads, DLC, screenshots, and videos separately from the onboard 32GB.
Here are great microSD card options I recommend:
Capacity | Price |
---|---|
SanDisk 128GB | $19.99 |
SanDisk 256GB | $39.99 |
Samsung 512GB | $57.99 |
To start using your new microSD card:
- Insert the card into the slot behind the kickstand
- Go to System Settings -> Data Management
- Select Move Data Between System / microSD Card
- Choose what to move – Software, Screenshots, Videos or All
- Tap Move Data to confirm
After it copies, your games will now download to the microSD card by default. And you can archive more games to free up the onboard storage even more.
I highly recommend picking up at least a 128GB microSD card. That should give you tons of breathing room for downloads and media!
Step 6: Clear System Cache
Here‘s a quick maintenance task – clearing the system cache and cookies:
- Go to System Settings
- Select System -> Formatting Options
- Select Clear Cache
This wipes temporary cached browser data and system files that build up over time. It won‘t affect games or save data.
After clearing the cache, you may recover several hundred MBs or more. So it‘s good routine maintenance for any Switch owner.
Step 7: Reset Game Save Data
This last tip is a more drastic option, so use carefully.
For games you haven‘t played in a very long time, you can reset the save data to purge huge files. But this will erase your gameplay progress and settings.
Only use this method on games you don‘t mind completely starting over:
- Go to Data Management
- Select Manage Save Data/Screenshots
- Tap a game save, then Delete Save Data
- Confirm again to wipe
Casual first-party games like Super Mario Odyssey don‘t take long to replay. But definitely don‘t use this on a massive RPG right before the final boss!
Resetting save data is useful for recovering space from older games collecting dust.
Phew, that was a lot of tips! Here‘s a quick recap on how to free up storage on your Switch:
- Offload screenshots and videos regularly
- Delete old game update data
- Archive older games you aren‘t playing
- Use a microSD card for external storage
- Clear system cache every now and then
- Reset save data on casual games as needed
Following this advice, you‘ll be able to install tons of games on your Switch without sacrificing your progress. Enjoy the extra breathing room!
Let me know if you have any other questions – I‘m always happy to help a fellow gamer out. Game on!