How to Save and Back Up your Island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

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Keep your hard-earned progress safe by learning how to save in ACNH

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: August 5, 2023 Fact Checked

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Saving Manually

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Autosave

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Backing Up Save Data

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.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

How to Save Manually in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

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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 .
The game will save and return to the title screen.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Does Animal Crossing: New Horizons autosave?

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Yes, there is an autosave in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. As you play the game, you may see a spinning icon in the upper right-hand corner. This is the autosave icon, which means the game is saving without you manually telling the game to save.
- While autosave can help you restore some of your progress if your Nintendo Switch turns off mid-game, you should manually save when you're ready to stop playing to make sure all of your work is saved.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

How to Back Up Your Island Save Data

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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]
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Select Island backup from the settings menu that pops up.
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.
Backups will be made periodically when the game is not being played and your console is connected to the internet.