Nintendo Support

Error Message: “This Software Cannot Be Played. The Nintendo Account Used to Purchase This Software Has Been Unlinked”

Steps for when you receive the error message "This Software Cannot Be Played. The Nintendo Account Used to Purchase This Software Has Been Unlinked" when trying to play a game.

Information

  • Purchases on the Nintendo Switch eShop are tied to the Nintendo Account that made the purchase.

  • You can have up to two consoles that can load Virtual Game Cards per Nintendo Account.

  • Once you've loaded a virtual game card on a console, your digital purchases can be played by anyone that has a user on that console.

  • Once you've purchased a digital game, you can use your Nintendo Account to access the game on any Nintendo Switch console (whether or not it can load virtual game cards).

  • When using a console that is not one of your two consoles that can load virtual game cards, you are the only player that can access digital games that you've purchased. Other players will not be able to access your digital games on consoles that cannot load your virtual game cards.

Possible solutions

This error message means that the Nintendo Account that purchased the game you are trying to play has been removed from the console you are trying to play on. In order to play games purchased by other people, you must be playing on one of the consoles that can load Virtual Game Cards for the Nintendo Account that purchased the game. If the console is not one of the two that can load virtual game cards for that Nintendo Account, the game can only be started by the player that owns the game.

You have various options to play the game: