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Animal Crossing: New Horizons is listed at 10.6 GB for Nintendo Switch and 10.8 GB for Nintendo Switch 2 on Nintendo’s US store. Those are the listed game file sizes, not a guaranteed total for the game after updates or optional downloadable content. Check your console’s available space before downloading.
How much space does Animal Crossing: New Horizons take up?
Nintendo’s US product listings show these file sizes, accessed October 7, 2026:
| Platform | Nintendo-listed game size |
|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch, including Switch Lite and Switch OLED Model | 10.6 GB |
| Nintendo Switch 2 | 10.8 GB |
The figures are platform-specific. Nintendo does not publish a combined storage total for the base game, updates, and optional DLC, nor an exact temporary free-space requirement for downloading an update. The listed size therefore should not be treated as a precise prediction of every console’s final occupied space. Nintendo’s Switch listing and Switch 2 Edition listing provide the published figures.
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Nintendo lists the following internal capacities. They are not the same as the free space available for a game: system storage reduces usable capacity, and installed games and other data use space too.
#1 Best Overall
![Animal Crossings New Horizons - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ErvUL40zL._SL160_.jpg)
- Build your community from scratch on a deserted island brimming with possibility; Create your personal getaway and customize your character, home, decorations, and even the landscape itself
- Collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools. Then, use what you create to give your island a personal touch
- Watch as the time of day and seasons match real life—even your hemisphere. Each day holds potential for surprises and discoveries
- Get to know the island residents, garden, fish, decorate, hunt for fossils, and more.
- Show off your paradise – play on the same system with a total of 4 people, or play together online or over local wireless for fun with up to 8 players
| Console | Nintendo-listed internal capacity | Listed Animal Crossing size |
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch | 32 GB | 10.6 GB |
| Nintendo Switch Lite | 32 GB | 10.6 GB |
| Nintendo Switch OLED Model | 64 GB | 10.6 GB |
| Nintendo Switch 2 | 256 GB | 10.8 GB |
Hardware capacities are from Nintendo Support Japan; game sizes are from Nintendo’s US product listings. The capacities are specifications, not a promise that the same amount is available for downloads on every device. Check the free-space reading on your own console.
What to do if you are short on space
Nintendo says storage can be expanded with a microSD card. Confirm the card type supported by your specific console model before buying one; the support page cited above does not provide every model-specific card-format detail. You can also make room by managing existing software and data in the console’s storage settings.
Rank #2
- Share Your Paradise - Show off your island utopia to family and friends - or pack your bags and visit theirs.
- Get Building - Experience a robust new crafting system - collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools!
- Create Your Perfect Getaway - Craft everything from tools to creature comforts as you create and customize your island community.
- Explore Your Island - Collect bugs, decorate your paradise throughout the day, or enjoy sunset on the beach while fishing in the ocean.
- Play Together - Up to eight players can reside on an island; four residents of the same island can play together simultaneously on a single system.
Do updates or the Switch 2 Edition change the size?
Nintendo Support lists version 3.0.3 as released April 29, 2026, and says players should connect to the internet to update. Nintendo states, “This update must be applied in order to use the game’s Internet features.” It also says a Nintendo Switch Online membership is required for online features and that players need the same software version to play together. See Nintendo’s update and online-play information.
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Nintendo does not state the update’s download size or a combined post-update footprint in the cited pages. The version number does not indicate how many gigabytes an update adds, so there is no official total to add to the 10.6 GB or 10.8 GB listing.
Rank #3
![Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51JAzQozLgL._SL160_.jpg)
- Take in-game photos of your designs and add them to your portfolio. Show them to other characters and you may get more requests to create vacation homes. Share the photos with other players using the in-game Showroom in the Happy Home Network app and they can tour your personally-designed resort islands or go tour theirs for some relaxation and inspiration.
- Purchase the Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC from Nintendo eShop, or download and play it as part of an active Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pack membership at no extra cost.
The Switch 2 Edition has edition-specific features, including enhanced resolution, mouse controls, and a megaphone that uses the system microphone. Nintendo’s listing describes online sessions for up to 12 players when all participants have the Switch 2 Edition. The standard Switch listing describes online and local wireless play for up to eight players. These feature differences do not change the separately listed file sizes above.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does Happy Home Paradise need extra storage?
Happy Home Paradise is optional downloadable content, and the full base game is required. Nintendo says it can be obtained as a separate purchase or accessed at no additional cost with an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. Separately purchased DLC remains playable; membership access lasts only while the qualifying membership is active. Nintendo’s cited pages do not state the DLC’s file size, so its additional storage requirement cannot be quantified here. See Nintendo Support’s Happy Home Paradise information.
Will save data use the same space as the game?
The download size is not a measure of island save data. Nintendo documents ways to transfer an entire island, move an individual resident, or back up and restore island data. To restore an island backup on a replacement console, island backup must have been enabled on the original system. These transfer options do not establish a larger download size for the game. See Nintendo’s Animal Crossing support information.
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