Nintendo Takes Control of Ryujinx Emulator Website Amid Ongoing Legal Actions

Nintendo Asserts Control Over Ryujinx Switch Emulator Website Following Takedown Nintendo has officially taken ownership of the Ryujinx Switch emulator website, reinforcing its ongoing commitment to curbing unauthorized emulation of its Nintendo Switch console.

The domain transfer comes only weeks after the popular emulator’s site was forced offline in response to a removal request from the gaming giant. Background: Ryujinx, a highly regarded open-source Nintendo Switch emulator, had been providing the community with a means to play Switch titles on PC hardware.

Developed by a team of independent programmers, Ryujinx became a focal point in the ongoing debate about video game preservation versus intellectual property protection.

Nintendo, known for its proactive legal defense of its platforms, contacted the site’s owner in October 2024, leading to the removal of all emulator downloads from the website. Recent developments, highlighted in the r/Ryujinx forum by user XeClutch, show that Nintendo has now assumed formal ownership of the ryujinx.org domain.

A screenshot posted to the subreddit included data from the WHOIS database, which listed Nintendo of America as the site’s registrant.

The database indicates the domain’s information was most recently updated on November 7, 2024.

This move is widely interpreted as Nintendo’s attempt to prevent future distribution of the emulator through this domain and to eliminate any confusion for users seeking official Switch resources. "Nintendo is now listed as the primary registrant for the Ryujinx domain," the Reddit user shared, referencing the official WHOIS records.

Since the website’s takedown, Ryujinx.org has remained online but non-functional, with all previous downloads disabled—underscoring Nintendo’s sustained focus on enforcing its intellectual property rights. Despite Nintendo’s acquisition of the Ryujinx website, the emulator’s development persists via alternative channels.

A new Ryujinx release was published on its Github repository at the end of October 2024, suggesting that work on the project continues independently of its original web domain.

As of this writing, the Ryujinx simulation initiative remains active on open-source hosting platforms, reflecting the resilience of emulation development communities even in the face of significant legal scrutiny. Nintendo’s response to emulator sites is consistent with its history of defending its hardware and game ecosystem.

With over 139 million units sold globally since its 2017 launch, the Nintendo Switch remains a commercial success and a major target for emulation efforts.

The Ryujinx situation exemplifies the ongoing challenges confronting developers and platform holders as the industry navigates the intersection of game preservation, homebrew innovation, and intellectual property law. For now, the Ryujinx.org website serves as a stark reminder of Nintendo’s vigilance and the lengths to which major publishers will go to protect their assets in the digital era.

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