How To Add Friends On Nintendo Switch: An Easy Guide

Building a group of friends to play games with is essential on every gaming platform, and it's no different with the Nintendo Switch. You can have up to 300 friends at a time, so you'll have no shortage of people to play with if you've been taking full advantage of Nintendo Switch Online. If you come across somebody you want on your Friend List from a co-op or multiplayer game, it's as simple as navigating to your User page, selecting "Add Friend," searching for users you played with, and scrolling until you find who you want to add. That's it. If you're making friends from random people you played with, that's all there is.

Adding people you actually know is a bit different. You'll need a Friend Code to add people from your real life, like coworkers, friends, and family. It's a somewhat clunky method compared to simply looking up a username and adding it like you do on the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but it works all the same. The whole process doesn't take a lot of extra time, so don't let the added steps stop you from adding somebody.

You'll need to find your Friend Code to hand out to your friend and vice-versa if they want you to add them. Luckily, it's easy to find — all you have to do is go to your user profile. Your Friend Code will be listed just above your play activity. Alternatively, you can go to your "Add Friend" tab and find it there.

To add somebody via a Friend Code, go into the Add Friend part of your profile, select "Search with Friend Code," and put in the code. If you're on the receiving end of a friend request, you have an easy job. The only thing you have to do is select the notification and either accept or deny it. Once this is done, you'll be able to see the person you've added in your Friend List. You'll get a notification when they come online that tells you what game they're playing, and you can visit their profile to see everything they've played before.

If adding someone in close proximity to your console, you can circumvent the Friend Code path and search locally instead. You only have to select the "Search for Local Users" option, and it'll find nearby Switch users.