How to Share Games on Nintendo Switch 2 (Spoiler: Easier than You Think)

If you have multiple households Nintendo Switch 2you don’t have to buy the same game again and again console. Instead, Nintendo offers two ways to share one copy of a game purchased between multiple Switch 2. Virtual Game Card. I’ll explain both.

However, before you start, you may have heard of a feature called Gameshare. This is also found in the bottom row of the home screen. I’m not talking about game sharing here.

Confusingly, game sharing does not mean sharing or lending the complete game with other systems. This is the case if you want to play a multiplayer game using multiple Switch 2. You can use it to play Mario Kart with an additional Switch 2 that races each other on the same track, for example from one copy of the game. If you have a Nintendo DS, it’s very similar to DS Download Play.

The two sharing features I walk you below, and the video above differs. These are ways to share the game between multiple Switch 2 without having to buy multiple copies of the game. Let’s get started.

Method 1: Load the game on another switch 2

The first method is to load the game onto a separate Switch 2 system for 1 second. Both consoles allow you to play the game yourself, but you cannot play the game at the same time. Additionally, as long as each system has internet connection, the saved files will be transferred between the two. This will keep each system up-to-date with other systems.

To get started, you must sign in to both Switch 2 systems. On your secondary device (without games), go to the virtual game card and select your account. Here you can see all the games tied to that account, and games with empty cartridge icons are not currently loaded into this system. Select the game you want to share and then load it into this system.

You will then be asked to link the two switch 2 together if you haven’t done it yet. If this is the first time you do this, you may need to link your account from the original switch, just as you would have to use the old switch OLED (pictured above).

Select the Primary Link console and wait for them to connect. Make sure both are on the same Wi-Fi network.

In the secondary console you can see that they are linked successfully. You can then proceed to loading this system. Once loaded, the game will automatically start downloading.

To stop sharing, go to the virtual game card on the primary system, select the game, and load it into this system. This removes access on the secondary system.

Method 2: Loan to your family

So let’s take a look at the second way to share your game library. This is called a loan to a member of a family group and is like lending a book from a library. But don’t be confused by the language – we’re not talking about Nintendo’s online family. This is a method you can use if your personal Nintendo account does not want to be connected to multiple Switch 2 consoles.

The first thing you need to do is add it to your family group using the other members, in this case my SeanTest account. accounts.nintendo.com/family. Follow the instructions to add a new member and then return to primary switch 2. Go to the Virtual Game Card, select the game, then lend it to a family group member.

I’ll mention here that Switch 2 only comes out for up to 14 days at a time (like the library books) before these lending games come back automatically. If you select the user you want to select, and if you select the user you want to rent, both Switch 2 must be brought closer to each other.

On the secondary device, continue. Go to the virtual game card and select (borrow). Once transferred, the game will start downloading.

Primary Switch 2 does not allow you to play the game while it is being loaned out. You can also check the members of the family group to see which games they have.

It is also worth noting that each member can only rent one game at a time. If you want to regain the game, select the game and then select Collect from Family Group Members. Secondary devices are not warned. Once loaded, Secondary Switch 2 will automatically no longer be able to play the game.

There are both ways to share the game across multiple Switch 2. Hopefully this will help you figure out which options are best for setting up your game.