Nintendo has filed a lawsuit against Tropic Haze, the creators of the Switch emulator Yuzu.

For those who may not be aware, Yuzu is one of the most popular emulators for Switch games, capable of playing more new releases on par or better than the console itself. Nintendo’s lawsuit against Yuzu’s creators asserts that the emulator is used to illegally get around software encryption and facilitate piracy. Nintendo’s games are encrypted to prevent unauthorized copies from being played on non-Switch hardware, and they claim Yuzu’s developers not only provided the emulator, but also links to software that could extract the required encryption keys.

NEW: Nintendo is suing the creators of popular Switch emulator Yuzu, saying their tech illegally circumvents Nintendo's software encryption and facilitates piracy.
Seeks damages for alleged violations and a shutdown of the emulator. pic.twitter.com/SGZVI6Cs0x

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) February 27, 2024

Using The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom as an example, Nintendo claims that their highly anticipated game was downloaded at least 1 million times before the game’s official launch, and Yuzu was the emulator that enabled the downloaders to play the game before release. Furthermore, Nintendo insinuates that Yuzu managed to earn a profit from this, as their paid support on Patreon doubled during this period, which Nintendo argues further incentivizes piracy.

https://twitter.com/stephentotilo/status/1762586809458987082

As for compensation, Nintendo seeks to have the emulator shut down, as well as receive payment in damages for copyright violations and potential losses in videogame sales. Although the suit is still in its early stages and the courts may not ultimately grant Nintendo everything they demanded, this lawsuit may act as a suitable deterrent for future acts of piracy. Stay tuned for more updates as they come.

If you’re interested in reading the full lawsuit, you can find it here.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.