How to Transfer Animal Crossing: New Horizons Save Data

Applies to:  Nintendo Switch Family, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, Nintendo Switch - OLED Model

In this article, you'll learn how to transfer save data for Animal Crossing: New Horizons to a new Nintendo Switch system.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons allows you and up to 7 others on your Nintendo Switch system to live on one shared island. The save data for the island or for the individual residents of the island can be transferred to a new Nintendo Switch system after updating the game software to the latest version. The island save data can also be backed up in case you lose access to your Nintendo Switch system and can be restored on a replacement system.

  1. What would you like to do?

  2. This feature is helpful if you are replacing your Nintendo Switch system with a new one and all players who have played Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be using the new Nintendo Switch system. It is also the only way to transfer your island resident representative.

    What is transferred:

    • The island and island representative
    • All progress, customizations, and items
    • All animal residents
    • All player residents
    • Any Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise save data
      • The DLC must be downloaded on your new Nintendo Switch system before the content can be accessed in-game

    You must have access to both the original system and the new system to use this feature.

    To proceed, follow our steps on How to Transfer an Island to a New Nintendo Switch System (Animal Crossing: New Horizons).

    This feature is helpful when just one player wants to continue playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons on a new Nintendo Switch or when multiple residents other than the island resident representative will be using the new Nintendo Switch.

    What is transferred:

    • The individual resident
    • The resident's home
    • Most items held or stored by the resident
    • Any Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise save data the resident has
      • The DLC must be downloaded on your new Nintendo Switch system before the content can be accessed in-game

    The original island and animal residents will remain on the original Nintendo Switch system, and the island resident representative cannot be transferred.

    You must have access to both the original system and the new system to use this feature.

    To proceed, follow our steps on How to Transfer an Individual Resident to a New Island (Animal Crossing: New Horizons).

    Important: When data is restored on a new system, your island will no longer be fully accessible on the original system. If you still have the original system and you want to move the data to a new system, follow our steps to transfer the island, instead.

    Use the island backup feature to ensure your island save data can be recovered in a situation where you lose access to your Nintendo Switch system. You must have already enabled island backup on the original system in order to restore it on a new system.

    What is backed up:

    • The last saved version of your island, including all progress, customizations, and items
    • All animal residents
    • All player residents, including the island respresentative
    • Any Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise save data
      • The DLC must be downloaded on your new Nintendo Switch system before the content can be accessed in-game

    To proceed, follow our steps on How to Back Up and Restore Island Save Data (Animal Crossing: New Horizons).

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