Nintendo has initiated legal action against Tropic Haze LLC, filing a lawsuit against the company regarding its highly popular Switch emulator Yuzu.
In the lawsuit filed earlier this week, as first reported by Bloomberg, Nintendo asserts that Yuzu can bypass software encryption, facilitating piracy. The gaming giant seeks compensation for damages attributed to Yuzu and requests the permanent shutdown of the program.
Nintendo argues that Yuzu’s business model is contributing to the growth of gaming piracy and cites its Patreon support as evidence. According to Nintendo, when The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was leaked online, it was downloaded over one million times before its official release. Concurrently, Nintendo alleges that Yuzu’s Patreon doubled in size.
This leak was one of the most significant faced by Nintendo during the Switch era, resulting in the entire game, including its story, being leaked online before its official launch. Consequently, many players had the game spoiled before they had the opportunity to play.
In the lawsuit, Nintendo directly targets Tropic Haze, claiming that they have firsthand knowledge that Yuzu is frequently used for piracy. To support this claim, the Reddit forum /r/YuzuPirates was cited, along with numerous links for Zelda: TOTK that referenced the Yuzu emulator.
It’s unsurprising that Yuzu has become Nintendo’s latest target, considering the emulator’s increasing popularity in recent years. With the emergence of more handheld PC devices on the market, Yuzu has gradually become one of the preferred methods for gamers to enjoy Switch games, despite the creator’s intentions.
Nintendo reiterates in its lawsuit that its sole intention is for Switch games to be played on official hardware. The outcome of this lawsuit remains uncertain, and as of now, there has been no public response from the Yuzu side regarding the filing.
