Ryujinx, the sole remaining Nintendo Switch emulator for PC after the closure of Yuzu, has also been taken down by Nintendo. The news came a few hours ago from one of the main collaborators on the open source project, which was the first emulator to boot commercial Switch games.
Here’s the Discord message shared with the community:
Yesterday, gdkchan (the author) was contacted by Nintendo and offered an agreement to stop working on the project, remove the organization and all related assets he’s in control of. While awaiting confirmation on whether he would take this agreement, the organization has been removed, so I think it’s safe to say what the outcome is. Rather than leave you with only panic and speculation, I decided to write this short message to give some closure. These words are my own. I don’t want to speak for anyone else here, so just remember that while reading.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed code, documentation, or issue reports to the project. Thank you all for following us throughout the development. I was able to learn a lot of really neat things about games that I love, enjoy them with renewed qualities and in unique circumstances, and I’m sure you all have experiences that are similarly special. I’m extending my own massive thanks to our moderation team, who have been here through some rough circumstances and always found ways to make light of it.
Indeed, Ryujinx can no longer be downloaded via GitHub or the official website, where the download page is now entirely blank. It may have taken them years, but Nintendo finally decided to completely crack down on the Switch emulator and pirate scenes.
Recently, they also announced a lawsuit against Palworld, alleging that Pocketpair infringed multiple patents with their game. Whereas with the emulators, the companies likely had no choice but to fold even merely due to lack of funds for the legal expenses, the same appears unlikely with Palworld, which is one of the best-selling games released in 2024 so far.