While buying concrete copies of games is a keen fashion to build your collection, yous may not be able to find smaller, indie titles in a physical format. For titles like these, equally well as any major game, Nintendo has the eShop available on the Switch for y'all to download them digitally.

If you've never downloaded a game digitally before, don't worry too much as the procedure is easy. You lot but need to take a skillful internet connectedness in order to access the store and ensure the download goes smoothly. Getting games digitally is a user-friendly way of getting new games or discovering great indie titles.

Follow this guide and savor bang-up new games without ever leaving your couch.

Link a Nintendo Account to Your Switch

The first stride is to create and link a Nintendo account if you haven't washed so previously. This will allow you to download games within this account and save your purchasing history.

You'll need a User business relationship, which is the account y'all utilize with Switch. You probably created one when setting up Switch, merely if not, or yous want to set up a new User from the 1 yous already created, you can follow the steps from Nintendo.

To link a Nintendo business relationship to your Switch User account, follow the steps below:

  1. Become to System Settings > Users and select your account.
  1. Go to Link Nintendo Account > Create Business relationship. If you already have a Nintendo Business relationship, select Sign In.
  1. Enter in your username or countersign, or choose Sign In with a smart device to get a QR code you tin can scan with your smartphone, which volition open a browser to sign into your Nintendo Account from at that place. Yous will then be given a lawmaking y'all can enter into the Switch.
  1. Afterward signing in, your Nintendo Account will be linked to the chosen User account. Select OK and return to the Switch Dwelling house carte du jour.

Now that you take a Nintendo Business relationship on your Switch, you lot can head over to the eShop.

Download Games On the eShop

After you've opened the eShop from the Switch's Dwelling house menu, follow these steps to observe and download the game you want.

  1. Select the Nintendo Business relationship you'd like to utilise for the eShop.
  1. Select the game yous want to download, or go to the magnifying glass icon in the acme left corner to search for specific games.
  1. Once you've selected a game you'll be taken to its details page. From hither, select Proceed to Purchase or Free Download if information technology's a free game.
  1. You tin too await at the details page to see if the game has any DLC, which you can download from here equally well.
  1. Y'all tin buy your game in one of four ways. Either using Nintendo Points, a credit/debit carte du jour, PayPal, or an eShop gift card. Select which options you lot'd like to pay with, and follow the instructions to connect the method to your Nintendo Business relationship.
  1. Confirm your buy, and and so the eShop will begin downloading the game to your Switch. You tin go to the Habitation screen to see a progress bar under the downloading game.

Once the game has been downloaded, you lot'll see information technology on your Switch Home screen. Yous can then select it and begin to play right away.

How to Redownload a Game

If you accept previously bought and downloaded a game, and then either archived it or deleted it from your Habitation screen, you tin can download it again. This can be washed, merely the process will exist different depending on whether yous archived it or deleted it.

Afterwards Archiving the Game

When you annal a game, you can still encounter its icon on your Home screen, simply you won't be able to play it until you've redownloaded it. Follow these steps to do that:

  1. Discover the game's icon you desire to redownload on the Switch's Habitation screen and select it.
  1. Choose the Download option.
  1. Wait for the game to redownload. If you don't have enough infinite, y'all may accept to annal another game or download to an SD card, if yous have ane.

After Deleting the Game

If you don't come across the game'southward icon on your Dwelling screen, information technology could mean you deleted it. You can even so redownload information technology, but it takes a few more steps.

  1. Get to the Nintendo eShop, and use the Nintendo Business relationship yous originally purchased the game on.
  1. Go to your Nintendo Account icon in the summit right corner.
  1. Go to Redownload to see a list of the games you've previously purchased on this business relationship.
  1. Select the game you want to download and select the orangish icon, and the game will begin downloading.

If you don't meet the game you lot want to redownload, you may have purchased information technology using a different Nintendo Account. Log into whatsoever other Nintendo Accounts y'all may have and follow the steps above to see if that'south the case.

How to Download a Game Using a Code

If you purchase a digital Switch game through ways other than the eShop, you may have received a download lawmaking. These can be redeemed on the eShop to receive and download your game.

  1. Open up the Nintendo eShop and select an account to use.
  1. Go to Redeem Code on the left sidebar.
  1. Enter your download lawmaking, which should exist 16 characters long with no hyphens. And then select Confirm.
  1. The game will begin downloading.

Playing Digital Games On the Switch

With and then many digital game options, you're unlikely to run out of things to play on the Switch. Non only can yous observe Nintendo'south major titles on the eShop, but at that place are tons of great indie games to endeavor out too. You can too sometimes detect sales on the eShop, so keep an eye out for when this happens.

What are some of your favorite games you lot've downloaded on the Switch? Let us know in the comments.