Nintendo Intensifies Efforts to Pursue Switch Pirates

Nintendo’s ongoing crackdown on piracy shows no signs of slowing down as they seek out more individuals believed to be involved with illegal activities, including those linked to the infamous modder James “Archbox” Williams. A recent lawsuit highlights this continuous legal struggle, targeting Modded Hardware for distributing MIG Switch devices loaded with pirated Nintendo games. As Nintendo gears up for the next chapter in its console journey with the launch of the Switch’s successor, the company’s resolve to protect its intellectual property remains unshaken.

The courtroom drama unfolds further as Nintendo persists in its efforts to track down and bring to justice Switch users and modders allegedly engaged in piracy. This move follows a series of legal actions, one of which involved a modder accused of facilitating the piracy of Switch games. Nintendo’s tactics aren’t new; they have consistently used the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to combat leaks and shut down websites that host ROMs and emulators for its games and systems. Earlier this year, Nintendo settled a $2.4 million lawsuit against Tropic Haze for their role in developing the Yuzu Switch emulator, which has since been removed from code repositories. Despite their project ending, Tropic Haze maintained their cautionary stance against game piracy.

Nintendo isn’t resting on its laurels, even after an already eventful year in the legal arena. According to a filing in a Washington state district court, Nintendo plans to serve additional legal notices as it expands its investigation. This comes after successfully launching a lawsuit against James “Archbox” Williams, a prominent figure in the Switch modding community, particularly active on the now-investigated SwitchPirates subreddit, which boasts over 216,000 members. After Williams failed to defend himself in court, Nintendo secured a default judgment, allowing the company to request subpoenas for records from platforms like Reddit, Discord, GitHub, Cloudflare, Google, and domain providers such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Tucows to identify other associates potentially involved in these activities.

In June 2024, Nintendo also filed a separate lawsuit against Modded Hardware, a company that was selling devices and modifications with pirated Nintendo games. Despite receiving a cease and desist order in March 2024, Modded Hardware’s leader, Ryan Daly, continued operations until Nintendo took legal action. Through a series of favorable legal outcomes, Nintendo has made its stance clear: piracy of its intellectual property will not be tolerated. With the upcoming release of the Switch’s next iteration, only time will reveal the outcomes of Nintendo’s relentless pursuit to uphold its intellectual property rights.