Nintendo Sues Emulator Creators Over Alleged "Tears of the Kingdom" Piracy

Nintendo is suing Tropic Haze, the developers of the popular Switch emulator Yuzu, accusing them of facilitating piracy of "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom." The lawsuit claims over one million copies of the game were downloaded illegally on Yuzu a week before its official release.

Nintendo alleges Yuzu allows users to decrypt and play Switch games without purchasing either the console or the game itself. They argue this circumvents copyright protection and constitutes illegal distribution. The company seeks $150,000 in damages per copyrighted work and aims to retrieve profits Yuzu gained from "violations."

The lawsuit further claims Yuzu's Patreon provides early access and special features for games like "Tears of the Kingdom," potentially leading to leaks. It also alleges the website instructs users on acquiring keys to decrypt unauthorized copies.

This isn't Nintendo's first legal battle against piracy. In 2021, they won a $2.1 million lawsuit against the ROM-hosting website RomUniverse, and previously received damages from other similar sites.