In a surprising turn of events, Nintendo appears to have acquired ownership of the website domain for Ryujinx, a popular Nintendo Switch emulator that mysteriously vanished from the internet last month.
The Ryujinx emulator, known for its ability to run Nintendo Switch games on personal computers, abruptly disappeared in early October. At that time, a developer on the project's Discord server revealed that Nintendo had approached the lead developer with an agreement to cease work on the emulator and remove all related assets.
Following this announcement, the emulator's downloads and GitHub repositories were promptly taken down. While the website initially remained accessible, it soon became non-functional, displaying no content to visitors.
Recent investigations by members of the Ryujinx community on Reddit have uncovered that Nintendo of America is now listed as the official owner of the emulator's former domain. WHOIS database records indicate an update occurred on November 7, though it's unclear if this date marks the exact transfer of ownership to Nintendo.
This move by Nintendo could be interpreted as a preventive measure, potentially aimed at stopping any future attempts to revive the emulator under its original domain name.
The action against Ryujinx is part of Nintendo's broader campaign to combat emulators. Earlier this year, the company successfully shut down Yuzu, another major Switch emulator, through a legal settlement. The developers of Yuzu agreed to pay Nintendo $2.4 million and immediately halt support for both Yuzu and Citra, a 3DS emulator.
In their statement, the team behind Yuzu emphasized their stance against piracy and claimed they never intended to cause harm through their projects.
As Nintendo continues its aggressive stance against emulation, the gaming community watches closely to see how this will impact the landscape of game preservation and accessibility.