Nintendo Shuts Down Switch Emulator Ryujinx After Creator Contact

Nintendo Takes Down Another Switch Emulator, Ryujinx

Nintendo has dealt another blow to the world of Switch emulation. Following the demise of Yuzu earlier this year, Switch emulator Ryujinx has seemingly ceased development and been taken offline. This move comes after the emulator’s creator, gdkchan, was contacted by Nintendo.

A Brief History of Ryujinx

Ryujinx initially surfaced in 2018, having started development the year before. The open-source project was the first Switch emulator capable of booting commercial games. The emulator’s creator, gdkchan, funded development through Patreon.

What Led to Ryujinx’s Demise?

According to a message on the emulator’s Discord server, gdkchan was contacted by Nintendo and offered an agreement to stop working on the project, remove the organization, and all related assets. The developer’s Patreon page and project website are still up, but the download page and Github repository are inaccessible.

The Reason Behind Ryujinx’s Shutdown

Ryujinx’s demise comes just seven months after Tropical Haze, the developer of open-source Switch emulator Yuzu, agreed to pay Nintendo damages and cease all operations. Nintendo launched a lawsuit claiming the emulator facilitated piracy. It’s no surprise that Ryujinx’s creator opted to yank the emulator offline rather than face Nintendo’s wrath.

Nintendo’s History of Taking Down Emulators and Piracy-Enabling Sites

Nintendo has a history of taking down emulators and piracy-enabling sites. In 2022, hacker Gary Bowser was sentenced to prison for the distribution and sale of piracy-enabling devices. The owner of ROM site RomUniverse was hit with a bill for copyright and trademark infringement. An Arizona couple was ordered to pay Nintendo for running two sites that offered pirated ROMs.