How to Setup Yuzu Nintendo Switch Emulator on Windows 10 and Play Switch Games

Arzaan Ul Mairaj

3 years ago

Are you looking to buy a Nintendo Switch but spent all your money on a PC instead? Or maybe you can’t buy one because of all the scalped prices. It could be that you just can’t find one anyways in your region because of their limited stock. Whatever reason that you may have, you can easily set up an emulator for playing your favorite games. So you don’t have to worry about waiting for a Nintendo Switch. We have a guide prepared for you to easily set up Yuzu Nintendo Switch Emulator for emulating Nintendo Switch games.

There are two emulators: Yuzu and Ryujinx. Both of these are different emulators for the Nintendo switch and only one of them is required. So it is up to you to decide which one you want to use. Some games, like animal crossing, may run better on Ryujinx. Others, like Mario Odyssey, run better on Yuzu. So just run some games on one, and some on the other. If there is a clear winner later, uninstall the other one. This guide is for setting up Yuzu. If you wish to set up Ryujinx, then head here.

Contents hide

1 Guide to setting up Yuzu Nintendo Switch Emulator

1.1 Minimum requirements

1.2 Recommended requirements

1.3 Step 1: Install Yuzu

1.4 Step 2: Set up keys and config files

1.5 Step 3: Set game directory

1.6 Step 4: Adjust CPU and GPU settings

1.7 Step 5: Nvidia Performance Settings – only if you have an Nvidia GPU

2 Yuzu Nintendo Switch Emulator

Guide to setting up Yuzu Nintendo Switch Emulator

Before we get on to how to set up Yuzu, you should make sure that your computer hardware meets the minimum requirements for Yuzu.

Minimum requirements

Operating System: 64-bit
CPU: Intel i5-4430 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
Memory: 8GB RAM
Graphics: OpenGL 4.6 support or Vulkan 1.1 such as an Intel HD Graphics 520 or Nvidia GeForce GT 1030

Recommended requirements

Operating System: 64-bit
CPU: Intel i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Memory: 16GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4GB or AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB

Step 1: Install Yuzu

Got to the official Yuzu website and download the emulator. First, download and install the latest version of Microsoft Visual C++ as without it Yuzu will not work. The link is on the website.

After that Click Download for Windows x64.

Open the Yuzu setup file you just downloaded and install it.

Step 2: Set up keys and config files

Next, you need to download the keys for Yuzu from here.
Download Mod Files from here and Custom Config Files from here. This step is optional but it can help with optimizing some games so they may run better and without bugs.
Open Yuzu that you just installed. You will be met with an error called Derivation Components Missing. Click OK for now.
Click on File and open yuzu folder.
Over here, make a new folder called keys. Place the prod.keys file you downloaded in this folder.
Extract the load.zip and you will have a folder called load. Put this in the yuzu folder as well.
Go to the config folder in the yuzu folder and then go to custom. Put the Custom Config.zip that you downloaded over here and extract it here. You can delete the zip file after extracting it.
Restart Yuzu.

Step 3: Set game directory

The Yuzu application should say Double-click to add a new folder to the games list.

So double-click it and then select the folder that has your Nintendo Switch games that you downloaded. You can download them from here and extract them to the Switch Games folder in the yuzu folder.
Right-click the folder above and select Scan Subfolders.

Step 4: Adjust CPU and GPU settings

While you have opened Yuzu, click on the Emulation tab above and click Configure.
In General, check the first three options.

For CPU, set the accuracy to Unsafe.

In Graphics, if you have Nvidia GPU, then set the API to OpenGL, otherwise if you have an AMD GPU, then it to Vulkan. There will be an Advanced tab on this page as well. Over there set the accuracy to High and check the box for Use assembly shaders.

Step 5: Nvidia Performance Settings – only if you have an Nvidia GPU

These are settings that are required in order to run the emulated games as smooth as possible without any crashes.

Open the Nvidia Control Panel, you can do this by right-clicking your desktop and selecting Nvidia Control Panel.
Go to Manage 3D settings under 3D Settings

Go to Program Settings and click Add and then select yuzu.exe.
Turn On Threaded Optimization and your Power management mode should be Prefer maximum performance. This step is very important!
Make sure your OpenGLL rendering GPU is set to your specific Nvidia GPU

Yuzu Nintendo Switch Emulator

You have successfully set up Yuzu Nintendo Switch Emulator and can now enjoy your Nintendo Switch game by opening Yuzu and double-clicking the game you want to play. You can also check out our guide for setting up the Ryujinx emulator for emulating Nintendo Switch games here. Let us know in the comments below if this guide helped you. You can also see our other guides here: