Latest Switch Emulator Shutdown Is How We Know Their Lawyers Are Cashing In Big Time

Nintendo’s aggressive legal strategy has once again claimed another victim in its ongoing war against emulation. Following its earlier victory against Yuzu, Ryujinx has now ceased development after its lead developer, gdkchan, was reportedly offered an agreement by the company to stop the project.

This latest move not only reaffirms the company’s aggressive stance against emulators but also showcases the extent of its legal reach. We’ll have to wait and see how this crackdown affects the emulation community and those invested in game preservation.

Nintendo’s Legal Team Is Just Getting Back To Back Cases

In February, Nintendo successfully sued the makers of the Switch emulator Yuzu, leading to a settlement where Yuzu ceased development and paid $2.4 million in damages. This victory raised questions about the future of other emulators, particularly Ryujinx, which was the other main emulator.

Looks like Ryujinx (Switch emulator) is dead pic.twitter.com/gE1qH30Axs

— Wario64 (@Wario64) October 1, 2024

We now have an answer. gdkchan, the creator of Ryujinx, was contacted by the company and seemingly agreed to shut down the project and remove all associated assets. The download page for the emulator is now blank, and its GitHub repository has been taken down.

According to a post by one of the developers ‘ripinperiperi’ on their Discord, Nintendo reached out to gdkchan with a proposal to halt development and remove all associated assets. With the organization now dismantled, it appears that gdkchan has agreed to those terms.

I guess one daily reminder that Nintendo is made out of pure evil wasn’t good enough: Nintendo has convinced the creator of Ryujinx (Switch emulator) to stop working on it and shut down the project

The Ryujinx Github repo now leads to a 404 page pic.twitter.com/iZbiEcO7J8

— FluffyQuack (@Fluffyquack) October 1, 2024

The team had been working on several improvements, including iOS and Android ports of the emulator, which showed significant progress. But with the shutdown, these updates will likely never see the light of day.

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Despite the technical legality of emulators, which do not infringe on copyrights themselves, the company’s legal strategy has been to target any potential facilitators of piracy, utilizing DMCA takedowns and other legal actions to suppress their distribution.

Emulation Itself Isn’t Illegal, But It Invites Piracy, Which Is

This legal offensive against emulation isn’t new, but this case underscores the lengths to which the company will go to protect its intellectual property. Although emulators are generally legal, as they do not include proprietary code, the legal gray area surrounding them lies in their potential for piracy.

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The company’s legal tactics extend beyond emulation to other areas of potential infringement. Recently, the company filed lawsuits against the developers of Palworld, a game with striking similarities to Pokémon, claiming patent infringement. This lawsuit, along with several others in recent years, shows the company’s relentless effort to guard its franchises.

Despite the shutdown, it is unlikely that emulation will disappear entirely. Forks of the emulator’s code have already begun circulating on Reddit and other platforms, just as Yuzu’s source code did before.

As Nintendo continues its legal crackdown on emulation, questions remain about the long-term impact on game preservation and the future of emulators. The developers also emphasized the importance of emulation in preserving video game history, a sentiment that many agree with.

What do you think of the company’s ongoing legal situations? Let us know in the comments.