How to free up space on Switch 2

By Daniel del Moral Hernández · Updated October 7, 2026

When the Switch 2 runs out of space you have three options: move games to a card, archive games you are not playing, or delete what you no longer need. All of them live in the same menu.

1. Move games to a microSD Express card

If you have a microSD Express card, Nintendo’s steps are:

1. Select System Settings from the HOME Menu.
2. Scroll down and select Data Management.
3. Select Move System / microSD Express Card Data.
4. Choose the data you would like to move, then select OK.

Save data and some update data cannot be moved: they always stay in the system memory. And if you keep playing a moved game, new update data may be saved to the other location.

2. Archive games you are not playing

Archiving removes a game’s data but keeps your save data and the game icon. When you want to play again, select the icon and the game downloads again. This is how Nintendo describes archiving for the Switch family, and on Switch 2 you find it under System Settings → Data Management too.

One caution from Nintendo: you may not be able to download again games that have been discontinued or are no longer distributed.

3. Start with the biggest games

A single large game can free more space than ten small ones. Some Switch 2 games need more than 70 GB:

• The biggest Switch 2 games by file size

Keep in mind how each game was bought:

• A full-cartridge game runs from the card, so archiving it only frees its updates.
• A Game-Key Card game downloads everything, so it frees as much space as a digital one. You will need an internet connection to download it again.

Plan ahead

The storage calculator shows how many of your games fit on the internal 256 GB and on each microSD Express card size.

Which games free the most space

The biggest games on Switch 2 are in a different league from the rest. In the GameSpecsDB database in October 2026, the median game takes about 12.9 GB, while these take several times that:

Archiving one of these frees as much space as five or six typical games. Yearly sports games are a good first target: once the new edition comes out, the previous one is rarely played, and it is often one of the largest things on the console.

Archive or delete?

For most people archiving is the better option: it frees exactly the same space and is easier to undo. Deleting the save data is a separate step, and it cannot be undone unless you have a cloud backup through Nintendo Switch Online.

A routine that keeps the console tidy

1. Check before big releases. Before a large game comes out, look up its size on its game page and make room in advance, so the download does not stop halfway.
2. Archive what you finished. If you completed a game and do not plan to replay it soon, archive it. Your save stays.
3. Watch the yearly games. Sports games and live-service games grow with updates over the year. Re-check their size every few months.
4. Prefer full cartridges when you buy physical. A full-cartridge game only stores its updates, so it barely uses space. See which games have the full game on the cartridge.

When it is time for a card

If you find yourself archiving and downloading games every few weeks, a microSD Express card will save you time and bandwidth. With the median game at under 13 GB, even a 256 GB card holds around 15 to 20 typical games, or two or three of the biggest ones.

Common questions

Will I lose my progress if I archive a game? No. Save data stays on the console.

Do screenshots and videos take space? Yes, they are stored on the system memory or the card. If you record a lot of video, clearing old clips in the Album can free a surprising amount of space.

Why does the console still say it is full after I archived a game? Check whether the space was freed on the system memory or on the card. Data Management shows the two separately.

Sources: Nintendo Support: moving data between the system memory and a microSD Express card, Nintendo: data management and archiving.