Nintendo The company flexed its legal muscle once again after issuing takedown notices to several Switch emulator repositories hosted on GitHub. Although the emulation crackdown by Nintendo remains an ongoing topic, users discussed what the implications might be for emulation enthusiasts moving forward.
It's no secret that Nintendo protects 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, with Nintendo claiming that Modded Hardware's products were in direct violation of its IP rights. The latter company made MiG Switch devices that allowed users to circumvent Nintendo's anti-piracy measures on Switch consoles. The settlement awarded Nintendo $2 million, and imposed a permanent injunction against modded hardware.
Some Switch 1 owners are not happy about the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Some Switch 1 owners are unhappy with the Switch 2 version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, reflecting broader concerns with Nintendo's product strategy.
Nintendo issues DMCA takedown notices to switch emulator repositories
Although emulators are considered legal, that hasn't stopped Nintendo from citing piracy as a way to crack them. According to Emulation's post on the Android subreddit, the GitHub repositories for several Nintendo Switch emulators, including Citron, Eden, and Kenji-X, received takedown notices filed under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The takedown notice states that any GitHub repositories that do not comply with Nintendo's claims will be completely disabled. Emulators who were sent a takedown notice only had one day to comply with Nintendo's request. However, Nintendo's latest DMCA notices were limited to what was hosted on GitHub. In short, none of the Switch emulators currently hosted on a separate server or repository site were affected by Nintendo's latest legal filing. In response to the doubts and concerns raised by users, some emulator developers confirmed that the DMCA takedown notices from Nintendo and GitHub were legitimate. Switch emulator users are encouraged to make backups of what they download.
This isn't the first time that Nintendo has gone after Switch emulators through legal action. In 2024, Nintendo settled a lawsuit with Tropic Haze, makers of the Yuzu emulator. Nintendo said Yuzu's popularity as a Switch emulator had affected sales The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom During the game's 2023 launch. Nintendo settled with Tropic Hayes for $2.4 million, and Yuzu ceased development as part of the contract with Nintendo. Yuzu has also handed over control of all its websites to Nintendo, although the emulator developers have said they have been against piracy from the start.
Nintendo's anti-piracy campaign is an ongoing struggle
The latest effort from Nintendo to protect its IP is just part of an ongoing campaign against piracy in video games and mass media. In July 2025, one of the largest Switch piracy websites was seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Known as NSw2u, the piracy site was taken down as part of a joint operation between the FBI and the Financial Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) of the Netherlands. Given that pirated Switch ROMs were hosted by NSw2u, Takedown was one of Nintendo's biggest moves to combat piracy worldwide. The takedown occurred a month after the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 console, which had a successful worldwide release on June 6, 2025.
As part of its anti-piracy efforts, Nintendo issued a 2025 policy update to address what the company believed to be illegal use of “brick” modified Switch and Switch 2 consoles. Although this measure was seen as overreaching by users, it did not have a massive impact on Switch 2 console sales. Given that the Switch 2 is still a hot commodity, time will tell what else Nintendo does in its ongoing campaigns to protect its IPs.
