How to Block Fortnite on Nintendo Switch

Evan Gower November 13, 2019

Nintendo Switch is definitely at the top of game consoles for families with young kids, for its very user-friendly design, a huge selection of kid-friendly games, and the ability to take it with you wherever you go. But one of the most important functions that the Switch possesses (that the Wii and 3DS also have) are the Parental Controls.

How to Block Fortnite on Nintendo Switch

Games like Fortnite may not be appropriate for your child to play, especially if he or she is very young. “T” rated in the US, Fortnite has a PEGI (Pan European Game Information) rating of 12, as it contains “frequent scenes of mild violence”, and it means that it is not suitable for kids under the age of 12. If your kid is in fact under 12 or you would like to block the game for another reason, we will provide you with some options and a bit more to help keep your child safe.

The thing is that there is no straightforward way of blocking a specific game, Fortnite in this case, but there are ways to use the Nintendo Switch’s Parental Controls and Parental Controls App to get the same result.

Enabling Parental Controls on Nintendo Switch

If you are setting up your Switch for the very first time, you can enable Parental Controls in the start-up screen. If your Switch is already set up, you can enable them in System Settings. You can enable a pre-made settings option or you can customize if you want to be more specific about what you want to restrict.

Pre-Made Settings

These are pretty uncomplicated to set up but the settings here are very rigid.

From the Home screen of your Switch console, open System Settings.
Go down and select Parental Controls, located above the Internet option.
From the right side of the screen, open Parental Controls Settings.
Select Use this console.
After that select Restriction Level.
Select Teen, Pre-Teen, or Child setting. If you want to restrict your children from playing Fortnite, you should select the Pre-Teen or the Child setting, depending of course on the age of your children. The pre-teen option will restrict any games rated “T” or higher, while the Child option will only allow “E”-rated games.

Custom Settings

You should use these if you want a bit more control over the restrictions you want to set.

Below the Child setting option, you should find and select Custom Settings.
You should then select Restricted Software and manually choose the software restrictions.
It is important to set the Software Rating Organization to the appropriate region.
Select the appropriate game rating. In the case of Fortnite, you should restrict any games above 11+ as it is rated PEGI 12.
When you are done, hit Next to save your settings.
You will be asked to enter a PIN code, which prevents your child from changing the settings and allows you to access Parental Controls in case you have to change them.

These are the only options for blocking Fortnite on the Nintendo Switch. The downside is that it will not only block Fortnite but also other games that have the same or higher rating, so keep that in mind.

More Parental Control Options

There are more settings and restrictions you can change on your Nintendo Switch if you want to further protect your children when on the console, so we encourage you to check them out.

Social Media and Communication

You can also restrict posting screenshots on Social media, or restrict communicating using the console.

Select Custom Settings
Select Post to Social Media to restrict posting screenshots.
Select Communicating with others to restrict Sending and receiving messages and chats. It will also prevent the retrieval of user profile information as well as viewing and sharing images.
Hit Next to save your settings
Enter the PIN code

Nintendo Switch Parental Controls App

Nintendo’s other consoles, Wii and 3DS, also have parental controls built-in. For the Nintendo Switch, there’s also a Parental Controls App that will enable you to change console settings from your phone or tablet.

Setting Up the Parental Controls App

Download the app on your iPhone or Android.
Launch the app
Sign in to your Nintendo Account
Tap next to confirm registering your Nintendo Switch.
Launch System Settings on your console
Select Parental Controls
Select Parental Controls Settings
Select Use Your Smart Device
Select Yes
Select Enter Registration Code
Enter the registration code from your smart device and press OK
Select Register
Now go back to the Parental Controls app on your smart device
Tap Set Parental Controls
Choose a daily limit on playtime
Tap next
Under Select restriction level, tap None
From there, you can set up the settings the same way as with the Nintendo Switch.

Great Option for Protecting Kids

There is no doubt that Nintendo’s Parental Controls, as well as the App for Switch specifically, is a great way of restricting your children to games that are appropriate for their age. And as they do grow and you deem them mature enough to play games like Fortnite, you can modify the restrictions very easily.