Nintendo shuts down one of the largest Switch emulators worldwide

by

As a long-time enthusiast of gaming and emulation, I find myself once again at the mercy of Nintendo’s legal prowess. The shutdown of Ryujinx, one of the most reliable Nintendo Switch emulators, is a bitter pill to swallow.

Nintendo is well-known for pursuing lawsuits, particularly in matters concerning emulators. Most recently, they’ve set their sights on Ryujinx, an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS systems.

Ryujinx shut down by original creator

Yesterday, I woke up to some shocking news from the Ryujinx community. The creator of our beloved Switch emulator, gdkchan, was approached by Nintendo and given an offer to cease work on the project. It appears that he has accepted this offer, which explains why the Ryujinx GitHub page now returns a 404 error, making it impossible for us gamers to download the emulator anymore. Quite a blow for us Switch emulation enthusiasts!

— Ryujinx (@RyujinxEmu) October 1, 2024

In March of this year, something quite similar already happened when Tropic Haze LLC settled in their lawsuit with Nintendo of America for $2.4 million, which led to a shut-down of the Switch emulator Yuzu. We expect gdkchan was offered a similarly tempting amount, but that’s pure speculation on our part.

To date, gdkchan has remained silent regarding the matter, leaving us with slim prospects that the emulator will make a comeback.

Following this announcement, some junior team members from Ryujinx revealed their projects, such as plans for mobile versions on iOS and Android. Unfortunately, it seems these plans are not coming to fruition.

What’s your opinion on Nintendo’s stance towards emulators? Is it better for them to be more flexible, or do you find their current strategy intelligent?

Read More

2024-10-02 17:09