Switch emulator Ryujinx goes offline after the developer received an offer from Nintendo that it can't refuse

In February, Nintendo sued the makers of the Switch emulator Yuzu, saying it “illegally circumvents the technological measures” that help prevent piracy of Switch games. Just a few weeks later, Yuzu agreed to halt development and pay the company $2.4 million, a decisive victory for Nintendo that led us to wonder whether the company would take similar action against other emulators, especially against Yuzu competitor Ryujinx. Now we have our answer.

“Yesterday, [Ryujinx creator] “gdkchan was contacted by Nintendo and offered an agreement to stop work on the project, remove the organization and all related assets over which he has control,” wrote developer and moderator Rip in Peri Peri on the Ryujinx Discord. “While he was waiting for confirmation as to whether he would take this agreement, the organization was removed, so I think it's safe to say what the outcome is.

It certainly seems that way. The download page at ryujinx.org is now empty and the direct link to the emulator on Github results in a 404 error. Gdkchan has not yet commented on the matter, but the Discord message was also shared on the Ryujinx feed on X.

Rip in Peri Peri said that the Ryujinx developers had a lot going on behind the scenes that will now never see the light of day, including an iOS port “that did really well,” an Android version that isn't quite yet was ready for prime time, and further improvements to performance, compatibility and “the overall user experience” are in the works.

“This would be the true evolution of the emulator in the future, but the changes remained pending and were never released,” they wrote.

“I feel like this desire for perfection, to get there as quickly as possible, sets us apart as copycats, but unfortunately that means you didn't get to see some of our best work in action. Just keep it in your heart as a vision of what is possible.

Although they won't be staying in the Switch scene after this, Rip in Peri Peri said they still believe in the value of emulation and hope other developers aren't deterred by Ryujinx's closure: “The future of game preservation depends on individuals, and perhaps one day it will be properly recognized.

However, I think it's very likely that other emulator developers will be deterred, not specifically by Ryujinx's fate, but by Nintendo's enthusiastic pursuit of anyone who sets foot on its turf. When Nintendo filed a lawsuit against survival game Palworld, we found that its legal strategy could best be described as “vindictive,” although even that doesn't always reflect the extent to which the company is willing to wage an all-out war to carry small potatoes.

Remember, for example, how Nintendo shamefully destroyed the life of Gary Bowser, who spent more than a year in prison for selling “circumvention devices” – significantly less than the original sentence – and now owes the company more than $14 Millions of US dollars that Nintendo is determined to collect. “The phrase was like a message to other people,” Bowser said in a recent interview, and it's likely it was heard far and wide.

Interestingly, some Redditors believe that the closure was not due to legal threats, but rather because gdkchan was “sold” to Nintendo for an undisclosed but presumably large sum of money. I'm not sure where that came from, although it could possibly come from the wording “offered an agreement” in the takedown message. I tried to ask, but that seems unlikely at the moment, especially given Nintendo's history mentioned above; I feel like any deal between Nintendo and an emulator would be less like a “big fat check” and more like “waking up next to a horse's head.”

Whatever the case, it's another major blow to the emulation scene and gaming preservation in general. As with Yuzu, Ryujinx will be difficult to eradicate completely: the source code has disappeared from Github, but is already being shared on Reddit and possibly elsewhere. But even if other developers are willing to pick up the project, it seems inevitable that Nintendo will make every effort to bring it back to market.

Switch emulator Ryujinx goes offline after the developer received an offer from Nintendo that it can't refuse

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Switch emulator Ryujinx goes offline after the developer received an offer from Nintendo that it can't refuse

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