Neither the Nintendo Switch nor emulators can directly play a .7z or .xci7z file. You must extract the .xci file from the archive first, usually requiring free space on your hard drive to hold both the archive and the extracted file.

If you want to save permanent hard drive space without breaking compatibility, use NSZ or XCZ . These are specialized, compressed Switch formats that emulators can read natively without needing to extract them first. To help optimize your emulation setup, let me know: Which emulator are you using? (Ryujinx or Yuzu/Sudachi?) What are your system specs ? (Graphics card and CPU?) Are you trying to install specific mods or 60FPS patches ?

: There are no graphical or frame-rate improvements gained by using an xci7z file over a standard XCI or NSP (digital eShop) file . Improvements in Tears of the Kingdom performance are typically achieved through official game updates or emulator-specific mods like the TOTK Optimizer .