How to get Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom’s Switch 2 upgrades

You can get the Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 upgrade and Breath of the Wild Switch 2 upgrade for free if you’re a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscriber, though if this is your first time messing with any of the Expansion Pack features, the process of actually getting your free downloads is tricky.

You’ll need to navigate several menus and select the paid version first before the free download option shows up. Despite what the eShop may show you, subscribers can get both without paying the usual $9.99 upgrade price.

Below, we explain how to find the free download option for Breath of the Wild‘s and Tears of the Kingdom‘s Switch 2 updates.

How to get Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 upgrades for free

Open the eShop, and navigate to the Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild upgrade pack. If they aren’t on the featured selections menu when you first open the Switch 2 eShop, you can just search for the game name, and the upgrade pack options will appear.

The eShop product preview page shows that you have to pay for the upgrade, even if you have NSO’s Expansion Pack – but you don’t have to pay. Select the upgrade pack, and on the left above the product description is a small “download” button. Select that, confirm that you intended to select that, and your download will start.

If you’re in the Switch Online app, you can also get to the eShop directly by:

• Selecting the “Expansion Pack” menu
• Navigating to “Upgrade to Nintendo Switch 2 edition”
• Selecting “Upgrade pack details”

This will show you the eShop overview page for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom‘s upgrades, but it’s presented as if you have to pay for it. Select the upgrade you want, and then choose the “download” button on the left to avoid having to pay for the upgrade.

If the option to download for free isn’t there, make sure you’re signed into your Nintendo account that’s subscribed to Switch Online with the Expansion Pack and that the subscription is active.

Bear in mind that if your subscription ends, you’ll lose access to the Switch 2 upgrades for Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, or any Switch 2 game with a paid upgrade path. You can still buy them for $9.99 each or download them again if you re-subscribe to NSO + Expansion Pack at some point in the future.

For more Switch 2, check out our explainer for how Virtual Game Cards work on Nintendo’s Switch sequel and why you might not want to wait too long before selling your original Switch, if you don’t plan to keep it.