There is no single Nintendo list of games that can never move save data. Nintendo documents different restrictions for different methods: Save Data Cloud backup, a direct console-to-console system transfer, and game-specific tools. A title can be excluded from Cloud backup yet still move during a system transfer.
The clearest special case is Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Its island save is shared by residents on a console, so it does not follow the ordinary user-transfer process. Nintendo provides separate island-transfer and island-backup procedures, and the island cannot be moved between Nintendo Accounts.
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First decide which kind of transfer you mean
When someone asks whether a Switch game “transfers saves,” they may mean one of three different operations. Treating them as the same produces most of the misleading answers found online.
Save Data Cloud backup
Save Data Cloud stores a compatible game’s save online through Nintendo Switch Online. It is useful when the original console is unavailable, damaged or being replaced, but compatibility is decided title by title. Nintendo’s FAQ says the vast majority of Switch and Switch 2 games support Cloud backup while naming selected exceptions.
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Direct system transfer
A system transfer moves users and their associated data from one nearby console to another. This is a console migration, not an online backup. A game can therefore lack Cloud support and still be carried over during the system-transfer process.
Game-specific or shared-save handling
Some software does not store a normal, individual save for each user. A shared island or another special data structure may require an in-game transfer utility or a dedicated backup feature. Those procedures are separate from both Cloud backup and the ordinary user-transfer flow.
| Method | What it is designed to move | Important account or hardware condition |
|---|---|---|
| Save Data Cloud | An online backup for a compatible title | Requires Cloud compatibility and an active Nintendo Switch Online benefit for the account using the service |
| Nearby system transfer | Users and eligible save data moved between consoles | Both consoles, internet access and the same Nintendo Account linked to users on both systems are required; Nintendo says a Nintendo Switch Online membership is not required for this nearby transfer |
| Dedicated game procedure | Data handled according to that game’s own design, such as a shared island | Follow the game’s transfer or backup tool rather than assuming the standard user flow applies |
Games explicitly excluded from Save Data Cloud
Nintendo’s current Nintendo Switch Online FAQ identifies two named titles that are not compatible with Save Data Cloud. This is a statement about the Cloud method only; it is not, by itself, a declaration that every possible console-transfer route is blocked.
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons is listed among the selected titles that cannot use Save Data Cloud. Its save is also a shared island record, which is why the ordinary user-transfer process needs special treatment. The correct procedure is covered in the dedicated section below.
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Pokémon Legends: Z-A
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is also explicitly named as not compatible with Save Data Cloud. Nintendo’s wording establishes the online-backup limitation, but the cited FAQ does not establish that every direct-transfer route is impossible. If this is the game you are moving, check Nintendo’s current support instructions for the exact pair of consoles and the transfer method you intend to use before erasing the original system.
Non-Cloud games that Nintendo says can move by system transfer
Nintendo’s Switch 2 support guidance gives two useful counterexamples to the assumption that “no Cloud” means “no transfer.”
Splatoon 2
Splatoon 2 is cited as software that does not use Save Data Cloud but can be carried over by a system transfer. That makes it a direct-transfer example, not proof that the game supports online restoration or every other migration path.
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Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are likewise given as non-Cloud software that can be carried over during system transfer. The statement applies to that Nintendo migration process. It should not be expanded into a claim that all Pokémon-related data, every account arrangement or every direction between console generations behaves identically.
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These examples explain why a universal “games that cannot transfer” list would be inaccurate. The answer depends on whether the source console still works, whether both systems are present, whether the same account is being used and whether the game’s save is individual or shared.
Why Animal Crossing needs its own procedure
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the main special case because an island can be shared by multiple residents on one console. The island is not simply an individual user’s save that can be attached to one account and moved through the normal flow.
Nintendo’s support guidance states: “Save data that is shared by all users on the system, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons save data, will not be transferred with this process.” Nintendo’s Switch 2 guidance similarly explains that software where “a single save file is shared between users, like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cannot be transferred through a system transfer.”
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To move an island, use the game’s dedicated island-transfer procedure when both consoles are available, or its island-backup and restoration features where applicable. These tools are designed for the shared island record rather than for one resident’s user profile.
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The island cannot change Nintendo Accounts
Nintendo says island save data can move between consoles but not between Nintendo Accounts. A console replacement therefore needs careful account planning: moving to another device is not the same as assigning the island to a different account holder.
Do not rely on a normal user transfer
Starting a standard user migration and assuming it includes the island can leave the shared save behind. Confirm that the island-specific operation has completed and that the destination console shows the expected island before resetting, selling or giving away the source console.
Requirements for a nearby system transfer
For the direct console-to-console route described by Nintendo, prepare the following:
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- Both the source and destination consoles must be available for the transfer.
- Both systems need internet access.
- The same Nintendo Account must be linked to the relevant users on both systems.
- The source console should remain usable until the destination has been checked.
- A Nintendo Switch Online membership is not required for this nearby transfer, according to Nintendo’s support guidance.
The direction matters. Switch-to-Switch and Switch-to-Switch 2 migrations can have different support pages and prompts, so use the instructions for the exact two systems in front of you. Do not infer the behavior of a Switch 2 migration solely from a Cloud-support list.
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A safe decision process before you erase the old console
- Name the data you are protecting. Decide whether it is an individual user save, a shared island or another game-specific record. For Animal Crossing: New Horizons, treat the island as shared data from the start.
- Choose the intended route. If both consoles work and are together, investigate nearby system transfer first. If the old console is unavailable, Cloud restoration is relevant only when that title supports it. A special game utility may be the only supported route for shared data.
- Check the title’s current Nintendo support page. Look for separate wording about Save Data Cloud, system transfer and any dedicated backup or transfer utility. A Cloud exclusion is not a complete answer to a direct-transfer question.
- Verify account alignment. Confirm that the users involved on both consoles are linked to the same Nintendo Account required by the transfer process. A different account does not become interchangeable merely because both consoles belong to the same household.
- Keep the source intact. Do not initialize, sell or hand over the old console until the destination launches the game and the expected save or island is visible. This preserves your recovery option if the wrong method was chosen.
- Follow the game’s own completion check. For shared-save software, finish the island-transfer or restoration flow rather than stopping after the user profile appears on the destination. For a normal title, verify the relevant save slot or in-game progress.
How the named games fit the rules
| Game | Save Data Cloud status | What Nintendo’s cited guidance establishes about direct transfer | Special caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Not compatible with Save Data Cloud | Its shared island save is not included in the ordinary user-transfer process; use dedicated island tools | The island can move between consoles but not between Nintendo Accounts |
| Pokémon Legends: Z-A | Not compatible with Save Data Cloud | The cited FAQ does not establish that every direct-transfer route is blocked | Check the current instructions for your exact console pair before wiping the source |
| Splatoon 2 | Named by Nintendo as non-Cloud software | Nintendo gives it as an example that can be carried over by system transfer | That example does not imply Cloud restoration or every other transfer path |
| Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet | Named by Nintendo as non-Cloud software | Nintendo gives them as examples that can be carried over by system transfer | Do not generalize the example to unrelated Pokémon data or account arrangements |
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Using a Cloud list as an impossible-transfer list
Cloud compatibility answers whether an online backup can be made. It does not answer whether a working source console can send data directly to a nearby destination. Check both headings in Nintendo’s documentation.
Transferring a user and assuming every save followed
A user profile can arrive while shared or game-specific data remains subject to another procedure. This is the central risk with an island save and the reason to perform an in-game verification before disposing of the source console.
Changing accounts during the move
The nearby process requires the same Nintendo Account linked to users on both systems, while the Animal Crossing island cannot move between accounts. Decide account ownership before starting rather than trying to correct it after the source is reset.
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Waiting until the old console is gone
If the source still works, keep it powered and signed in until the destination has been tested. A missing source can remove the direct-transfer option, leaving only whatever Cloud or game-specific mechanism the title actually supports.
Assuming Nintendo Switch Online is always required
Nintendo distinguishes the online Cloud service from the nearby console-transfer procedure. The latter does not require a Nintendo Switch Online membership, although a title still needs Cloud compatibility if you are trying to restore an online backup.
What the official examples do—and do not—prove
Nintendo’s published examples are enough to answer the practical question but not to create a permanent, exhaustive blacklist. They establish two Cloud exceptions by name, identify Splatoon 2 and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet as non-Cloud software that can use system transfer, and set out a separate path for the shared island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
They do not establish that every title absent from a Cloud list is transferable, that every title with no Cloud support is blocked from direct migration, or that a procedure available for Switch-to-Switch 2 works identically in the opposite direction. For an unlisted game, the reliable answer comes from the game’s current Nintendo support page and the condition of your source console.
Quick Recap
Bottom line for each common question
- “Which Switch games do not transfer saves?” There is no single answer until you specify Cloud backup, direct system transfer or a game-specific procedure.
- “Can I move Pokémon Legends: Z-A?” It is explicitly excluded from Save Data Cloud; that fact alone does not prove that every direct-transfer route is unavailable.
- “Can I move Splatoon 2 or Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?” Nintendo cites them as non-Cloud games that can be carried over by system transfer.
- “Will my Animal Crossing island transfer?” It can move between consoles through the dedicated island process, but it is not handled by the ordinary user transfer and cannot move between Nintendo Accounts.
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