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This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Dillon. Hannah Dillon is a Technology Writer and Editor at wikiHow. She graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from North Dakota State University in 2013 and has since worked in the video game industry as well as a few newspapers. From a young age Hannah has cultivated a love for writing and technology, and hopes to use these passions in tandem to help others in the articles she writes for wikiHow.
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Have you spent hours working on your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island and need to stop playing for a bit? Knowing how to save your game will keep you from having to catch all those bugs and collect all those fossils over and over again. The game isn't very clear on how to save, so keep reading to find out how to save your Animal Crossing: New Horizons game.
Things You Should Know
- To save manually, tap the minus button on your Switch to pull up the save menu.
- Animal Crossing has an autosave feature in case your game closes before you can save it.
- You can set up your game to back up your island data periodically so you won't lose progress if you get a new Nintendo Switch.
Steps
-
![Step 1 Tap the minus...]()
Tap the minus button on your Nintendo Switch while in game. Once you're ready to save, hit the minus button to bring up the save menu. The game will ask if you'd like to Save and End or Keep Playing. -
![Step 2 Select Save and End to save your game.]()
Select Save and End to save your game. The game will save and return to the title screen.
-
![Step 1 Open Animal Crossing:]()
Open Animal Crossing: New Horizons on a user with a compatible Nintendo account. A compatible account should have all of the following:- An active Nintendo Switch Online membership
- Be a resident of the island you want to save
- Be on a stable internet connection
- Have updated Animal Crossing: New Horizons to 1.4.0 or later
- Not already have island backup enabled[1]
-
![Step 2 Press the minus button on the title screen.]()
Press the minus button on the title screen. Select Island backup from the settings menu that pops up. -
![Step 3 Select Enable island backup.]()
Select Enable island backup. If island backup does not turn on, make sure your console is connected to the internet and that your Nintendo Switch Online membership is active. -
![Step 4 View your island backup date on the title screen.]()
View your island backup date on the title screen. Backups will be made periodically when the game is not being played and your console is connected to the internet.
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