Nintendo Switch: How To Download Games From Other Countries
Here's how you can play games from other countries on your region-free Switch.
If you're a big fan of Japanese-made games then there's not much more demoralizing than seeing an awesome new game get released but not make its way to your country. Past Nintendo devices were especially guilty of this, as the last few have all been region-locked. For a lot of people this might not be a big issue, but many of us remember when the excellent Wii swan song Xenoblade Chronicles released in the EU but didn't make it to the US for another half a year. Luckily, Nintendo has chosen to avoid that altogether with the Switch by simply making the console region-free.
What this means is that you can play games from any country on your Switch, and even buy them flat out through the eShop, and doing so is pretty simple. If you're looking to grab a digital version of a game from another country, you'll just need a Nintendo account set up for that country. All you need to do is create a new account, set it to the country you'd like, and voila, that country's eShop will be available to peruse while you're logged into that account. As long as the Switch is set to that account's home device — which should be done automatically — then any games you download should be playable on the device even if you're not logged into that account. If you already have a spare account or messed up with the account's home country, you can change the account's country on Nintendo's website.
It's worth noting that, depending on your bank, you might have difficulty paying for a game through another country's eShop, or might have to deal with a fee for international transactions. That's something you'll need to check with your bank though. Of course, if you're just looking to import a physical copy of a game then things are even easier, as you can just chuck the card into your Switch and get to playing.
For more helpful content, check out our Switch guides.
