Looking to stream the new Animal Crossing, or just about any other new Nintendo title? This guide will teach you how to stream games from your Nintendo Switch.
Whilst most of the current generation of games consoles allow you to stream to Twitch directly from an app on the console, one of the more traditional ways of capturing game footage – whether for streaming or for YouTube video making purposes – was achieved through the use of a capture card.
Since the Nintendo Switch doesn’t share the ability to stream directly from the console, you’re going to have to invest in a capture card to share your gameplay.
Nintendo Switch Capture Cards
You may be able to find cheaper capture cards out there, but these two are the gold standard of capture cards and are widely popular within the Twitch streaming community as they work on both Windows and Mac.
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Once you’ve invested in a capture card, use the following steps to set things up.
How to stream your Nintendo Switch to Twitch with an Elgato HD60 / HD60 S capture card
1. Download the Elgato Game Capture software
Either head over to the Elgato website yourself, or click here
to find the latest download of Game Capture for Windows.
2. Dock your Nintendo Switch
As the capture card requires a HDMI port, you’ll need to dock your switch in its base station.
3. Connect your capture card to your Nintendo Switch
Plug your first HDMI cable into the docked Nintendo Switch HDMI-out port and plug the other end of the cable into the HDMI-in port on your capture card.
4. Connect your capture card to your screen
Now plug your second HDMI cable in to the HDMI-out port on your capture card and connect the other end into the HDMI-in port of your TV / PC monitor.
5. Connect your capture card to your PC
Using the USB-C cable included with the Elgato capture card, plug the USB in to your computer and the other end into the capture card.
6. Power up your Nintendo Switch, open Game Capture and OBS
Once you’ve opened these, set your OBS to window capture the gameplay and you’re ready to go live! It’s worth double checking all of your settings before hand, as some defaults may not be suitable for your bespoke stream setup.
If you’re having trouble with any of the Elgato capture products, they have a ton of support pages to help you resolve them, which you can check out here if you’re struggling.
Can you stream Nintendo Switch without a capture card?
It is possible to stream Nintendo Switch footage without a capture card, but it does have other requirements of a similar expense, in which case you’re better off buying a capture card unless you already have the required gear.
According to reddit user u/kakysha, you can use the Xbox One to stream your gameplay to your PC, which can then be window captured in OBS. Here’s a link to his tutorial.
There you have it! You now know how to stream your Nintendo Switch gameplay to Twitch. If you’re a console streamer and this is your first time streaming from a PC, you may struggle to read your Twitch chat if you only have one computer screen. Not to worry – I’ve written a guide showcasing some of the ways you can keep up with your chat if you only have one screen.
