Many have wondered if it is actually possible to share games between friends on the Nintendo Switch , let’s assume between 2 different consoles. On PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam, the phenomenon of game sharing is quite well known and allows you to save a lot of money, especially if we talk about the latest releases.
There are two methods to share games with one or more users who own another console, and even play them online together, let’s see how they work!
First method for sharing with a friend or family member
Before explaining the various steps, let’s review the necessary items :
- 2 Nintendo Switch consoles
- 2 Nintendo Accounts on the two consoles (so each console has at least one Nintendo Account)
- An Internet connection
Assuming two players, whom we will call A and B, here are the various steps :
- Player A goes to System Settings> Users> Add User
- A adds a user and a profile picture
- He then connects B’s account to the new profile created (so B will have to give his access data to A)
- A goes to his console’s Nintendo eShop and leverages his console’s registration as primary
- A enters the Shop with B’s profile and registers his console as the primary for B’s account
- Now A can access all the software downloaded by B, even using other accounts on his console
- B can repeat the same procedure but with A’s account
- A and B can play the same game online (even if only one copy was purchased online)
What changes without this method
Previously, it was only possible to play each other’s titles if the other player was not using their account. In fact, every time it was necessary to exit and re-enter the primary console status to sell it to the other player, complicating things considerably.
With this method, however, you can play each other’s games without sacrificing your stock . One important note : Players A and B will need to be online to play the software they originally purchased! This is because they have swapped primary console status and will need to be online to launch the games in question.
It is possible to go online, start the game that requires verification, disconnect the connection and continue to use it freely. Attention however, online access is generally required so we recommend that you have a decent connection at least.
Second method of sharing with multiple friends or family
An additional method has recently been discovered to be able to share your Nintendo Switch digital library with multiple friends or family.
With this method you can practically share your account with whoever you want without any problems whatsoever.
Compared to the first method with this you will lose the possibility of being able to play online with the games of others, in favor of a greater range of sharing.
Before explaining the various steps, let’s review the necessary items :
- A Nintendo Switch
- The account you want to share with your friends or relatives
- An Internet connection
This time we’ll take a 4-way share as an example:
- Turn on the Nintendo Switch on which you want to put the account to be shared
- Create a new user and enter the account details
- Once this is done you will have a new user with the Nintendo Switch account with the games
- Once created, open the Nintendo e-Shop
- Open the e-Shop with the created account and re-download the games in the library
- Once ready, you just have to start them with the created user
- As soon as you start it you will see a “Verify” screen
- The console will check the licenses with the Nintendo servers
- Once it’s gone, press and hold the HOME button to bring up the quick menu
- Enter aerial mode and you can safely play your chosen title.
Tips for the second method
Being offline you will not be able to use the Joy-Con and the Pro controller in TV mode as the console disables all types of wireless connections. In fact, the wired controllers will continue to work, to overcome this problem you will need to use the phone.
From the console, simply go to settings> Airplane mode and from there enable the item “Communication with controllers (Bluetooth)” to be able to use Joy-Con or Pro wireless controllers.
In summary
This method of sharing has pros and cons that we will list below:
| First method | Second method |
| Maximum sharing with 1 person | Sharing without limits |
| Ability to play online with the games of others | Obligation to remain offline in favor of the infinite possibility of sharing |
| Cloud saves | Local saves |
| Plug and Play | At every start of the game you will have to enter airplane mode after the “Verification” message |
| No time limit | After 2/3 hours of play, the console will ask you for a further online verification |
If you have doubts about the Nintendo Switch online you can consult what we wrote not so long ago. If, on the other hand, you would like to understand better what NES titles are like, you can see our tried and tested NES games currently available.
We hope you have served this tip, there is still a lot to explore on the subject of sharing, but in case we will tell you later by updating this article from time to time!
