Twitch: How to stream Nintendo Switch

Mega Cat Studios
3 min readSep 8, 2020

Got the vibe to stream the new Animal Crossing, or just about any other new Nintendo title? This is the guide that will teach you how to stream games from your Nintendo Switch!

Although most of the latest generation of games consoles allow you to stream directly from an app on the console to Twitch, one of the more conventional methods of capturing game footage — whether for streaming or for video making purposes on YouTube — has been accomplished by using a capture card.

Since the Nintendo Switch does not offer the ability to stream directly from the console, in order to share your gameplay you may need to invest in a capture card.

Nintendo Switch Capture Cards

You can find cheaper capture cards out there but these two are the gold standard of capture cards and are widely popular within the streaming community of Twitch as they operate on both Windows and Mac.

Use the following steps to set up stuff, once you have invested in a capture card.

1. Download the Elgato Game Capture software

Either go to the Elgato website by yourself or to find the latest update for Windows of Game Capture.

2. Dock your Nintendo Switch

Since the capture card needs an HDMI port, in its base station you will have to dock your switch.

3. Connect your capture card to your Nintendo Switch

You have to plug your first HDMI cable into the docked Nintendo Switch HDMI-outport 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, go ahead and plug your second HDMI cable into the HDMI-outport 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

Plug the USB into your computer and the other end into the capture card using the USB-C cable included with the Elgato capture card.

6. Power up your Nintendo Switch, open Game Capture and OBS

Set your OBS to window capture the gameplay once you’ve opened these, and you’re ready to go live! It is worth double checking all your settings beforehand, as some of the defaults may not be suitable for setting up your stream to your specific needs.

Having trouble with any of the Elgato capture products? For you to resolve them, they provided a ton of support pages to help you! Click to check it out if you’re struggling.

Can you stream Nintendo Switch
without a capture card?

Nintendo Switch footage can be streamed without a capture card, but it does have other requirements of a comparable cost, in which case you are better off purchasing a capture card unless you already have the gear available.

You can use the Xbox One to stream your gameplay to your Computer, which can then be window captured in OBS, according to reddit user u/kakysha. A link to his tutorial is .

There you have it! Your Nintendo Switch games can now be streamed to Twitch. If you are a console streamer, and this is your first streaming from a PC, you can be struggling to read your Twitch chat if you have only one computer screen. Have fun streaming your gameplays in your Nintendo Switch!

Originally published at https://megacatstudios.com on September 8, 2020.

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Mega Cat Studios

Mega Cat Studios is a creative first company based out of Pittsburgh, PA. We love creating games. From retro cartridges to PC & VR, come play with us.