Nintendo flexed its legal muscles yet again, as the company issued takedown notices to several Switch emulator repositories hosted on GitHub. Although Nintendo's emulation remained an ongoing issue, users discussed what the implications might be for emulation enthusiasts moving forward.
It's no secret that Nintendo is protective of its intellectual property, given the company's legal history in its ongoing campaign against piracy. This policy covers not only Nintendo software, but also game consoles such as the Nintendo Switch. In September 2025, Nintendo settled a lawsuit against Modded Hardware, as Nintendo claimed that Modded Hardware's products directly infringed its IP rights. The latter company manufactured MiG Switch devices that allowed users to bypass Nintendo's anti-piracy measures on Switch consoles. The settlement awarded $2 million to Nintendo and a permanent injunction against Modded Hardware was enforced.
Some Switch 1 owners aren't happy with Super Mario Bros. Wonder's upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Some Switch 1 owners are unhappy with the Switch 2 version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, reflecting a broader concern about Nintendo's product strategy.
Nintendo issues DMCA takedown notices to switch emulator repositories
Even though emulators are considered legal, that hasn't stopped Nintendo from citing piracy as a way to crack down on them. According to a post about emulation on the Android subreddit, the GitHub repositories for several Nintendo Switch emulators, including Citron, Eden, and Kenji-X, received takedown notices under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The notification message stated that any GitHub repositories that did not comply with Nintendo's claim would be completely disabled. The emulators that received a takedown notice only had one day to comply with Nintendo's request. However, Nintendo's recent DMCA notices were limited to what was on GitHub. In short, any Switch emulators currently on a separate server or repository site were not affected by Nintendo's latest legal filing. In response to doubts and concerns from users, some emulator developers confirmed that DMCA takedown notices from Nintendo and GitHub were legitimate. Switch emulator users were encouraged to make backup copies of what they downloaded.
This isn't the first time Nintendo has gone after Switch emulators via legal action. In 2024, Nintendo settled a lawsuit with Tropic Haze, the creators of the Yuzu emulator. Nintendo stated that Yuzu's popularity as a Switch emulator had affected sales of the The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom during the game's launch in 2023. Nintendo settled with Tropic Haze for $2.4 million, and Yuzu ceased development as part of its agreement with Nintendo. Yuzu also handed over control of all its websites to Nintendo, although the emulator developers said they were against piracy from the start.
Nintendo's anti-piracy campaign remains an ongoing battle
Nintendo's latest attempt to protect its IP is just one part of the ongoing campaign against piracy in video games and mass media. In July 2025, one of Switch's largest piracy websites was seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The pirate site, known as NSw2u, was taken down as part of a joint operation between the FBI and the Netherlands' Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD). Given that pirated Switch ROMs hosted NSw2u, the takedown was one of Nintendo's biggest moves to combat piracy worldwide. The takedown came just one month after the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 console, which had a successful worldwide release on June 6, 2025.
As part of its efforts to combat piracy, Nintendo released a 2025 policy update that said the company could “brick” modified Switch and Switch 2 consoles it believed were being used illegally. While this move was seen as an overkill by users, it has not had a widespread impact on Switch 2 console sales. Given that the Switch 2 is still a hot commodity, time will tell what else Nintendo will do in its ongoing campaigns to protect its IPs.
