Nintendo Kills Last Hope of Unofficially Playing Switch Games

Nintendo May Have Won the Battle Against Emulators

The video game giant Nintendo may have succeeded in putting another popular Switch emulator out of business. In March, the company sued Yuzu, the most popular Switch emulator, and now it seems likely that Yuzu’s main competitor, Ryujinx, will follow suit.

According to developer and moderator ripinperiperi, Nintendo reached out to the Ryujinx team and offered them an agreement to stop working on the project and remove all related assets. Although the confirmation is still pending, the organization has already been removed, indicating the likely outcome.

Ryujinx’s Untimely Demise

The Ryujinx team was seen as relatively untouchable, with some rumors suggesting that lead developer GDKChan was based in Brazil, a country with a history of embracing emulators. However, unlike Yuzu, Ryujinx was not targeted by Nintendo through lawsuits, server shutdowns, or DMCA requests.

Emulators’ Legal Gray Area

Emulators are technically legal in a broad sense, but Nintendo can use legal avenues to pressure indie developers who cannot afford to fight a lawsuit. Filing DMCA takedown requests, shutting down Discord servers, and putting pressure on platforms like GitHub to remove projects are all effective ways to silence emulator development.

Nintendo’s Pursuit of Emulators

There are legal theories suggesting that Nintendo could win a case if it went to court, not because emulators are illegal, but because of the other copy protection mechanisms in the Switch. Moreover, some modern emulators could be deemed as piracy.

YouTube Takedown

In another sign that Nintendo is stepping up its legal efforts, popular YouTuber RetroGameCorps announced that the company has filed enough copyright strikes against his videos to risk deletion of his entire channel. As a result, he has vowed to no longer show Nintendo games on his channel.

Is This the End for Ryujinx?

Although it seems likely that this is the end of the official Ryujinx team, it is possible that a coup could take place, or forks of Ryujinx will spread across GitHub and the web, or their code will become the basis of future emulators. We haven’t heard from GDKChan yet, leaving some uncertainty regarding the future of the emulator.