Animal Crossing: New Horizons made a huge impact on the world of cozy gaming back in 2020, and it’s about to make a big resurgence. With the game now available on both the original Switch and the Switch 2 (with an even more upgraded Switch 2 Edition landing January 15), Nintendo’s flagship cozy game is back. Whether you’ve been playing consistently since launch, or want to dive back in and see what your villagers have been up to over the past few years, you may be looking to make your grand entrance on a shiny new Switch 2. Doing so, though, will require you to first move your island to Nintendo’s newest console. Here’s how to do so using the Animal Crossing island transfer tool.
How to transfer your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island to Switch 2
When setting up your Switch 2 for the first time, you can use the onboard system transfer to move most of your save files to your new console, but New Horizons is an exception that requires a special process. For New Horizons, you’ll need the island transfer tool, which is a free download in the Nintendo eShop. You’ll also need the Switch console that your island save data was previously on.
To get started transferring your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island, you’ll have to head to the eShop and download the Animal Crossing Island Transfer Tool on your Switch and Switch 2. When the transfer tool has been downloaded on both consoles, you’ll be able to begin.
Note the information below before proceeding:
- This process moves your save file, not copies it. This means your island will not be available to visit on the original system once the transfer is complete.
- You will need to download the Happy Home Paradise DLC on the new system to access any content related to this expansion.
- Airplane Mode must be turned off on both consoles to begin the transfer.
- The game must be updated to the newest software version on both consoles.
With all of that out of the way, you can begin the transfer process following the steps below:
- Load the Island Transfer Tool on both systems.
- Select Continue and Let’s Begin on both systems.
- Select Source on the source (original) system, then Yes when the name of your island or console is displayed.
- Select Target on the Switch 2.
- Select Continue on the source system.
- Select Proceed on the Switch 2.
- Select Transfer Data on the source system.
- Select Proceed on the Switch 2 to begin the transfer.
When the transfer is finished, you’ll find that the save data will no longer be available on the source system, but you will be ready to begin playing New Horizons on your Switch 2. That being said, the save data can be transferred back to the source system and removed from the Switch 2 if you ever have a need to do so.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.