How Nintendo Switch Cloud Saves Work
Cloud Saves are a service you'll gain access to once you purchase a subscription to Nintendo Switch Online.
Cloud saves will be turned on automatically for all games on your Nintendo Switch, however, they won't back up unless you play the game and save after cloud saves have been activated. You can also back these up manually.
How to Manually Manage Cloud Saves
- Head to system settings, then scroll down to Data Management.
- Then, click on Save Data Cloud Backup. Here, you can turn off automatic save-data backup and manually check the save data of every game on your Switch.
- You can also quickly see Save Data Cloud Backup information for a certain game by pressing the plus (options) button on the main menu when selecting a game.
Cloud Saves and Other Consoles
Having a Nintendo Switch Online subscription and cloud saves turned on also means you can log onto a Switch that isn't your own with your Nintendo Account and access all of your digital purchases and redownload your saved data. Simply create a new profile on the other Switch and link your Nintendo Account to it. This will not disrupt your main account.
You must maintain an internet connection to be able to play your digital games on a Switch besides your main one, and other profiles on that Nintendo Switch won’t be able to play your personal digital downloads if they don’t also own the game.
Cloud Save Limitations
Some games, like Splatoon 2 and the upcoming Pokemon: Let’s Go, won’t support Cloud Saves due to fear of cheating.
Nintendo will hold onto your Cloud Saves for six months after your subscription expires. They will be deleted if you don't reinstate your subscription within those six months. Don't worry - your local saves will be fine!