Yuzu Emulator Shut Down; Nintendo To Receive $2.4 Million In Settlement

See full bio

Obaid Ur Rehman

At HI Digital I test and write about different hardware configurations to show other PC users what they can expect from their build. My end goal is to educate the masses to make the right decision when they are looking for new PC parts to buy

See full bio

Nintendo has been quite aggressive this year, especially when it comes to lawsuits. Recently, it commented on Palworld and went after Yuzu. The latter was a major blow to the emulation scene, but audiences remained confident that Nintendo could not harm the emulator in the long term.

Mere days later, the team behind Yuzu shared an upsetting update. The team has agreed to settle the lawsuit and pay $2.4 million in damages. Following this announcement, Yuzu will cease to exist.

Why it matters: Yuzu was one of the two most popular Nintendo Switch emulators, making it incredibly easy to play first-party games on superior PC hardware.

The developer of Yuzu and Citra, Bunnei, took to Discord to make the announcement.

We write today to inform you that Yuzu and Yuzu’s support of Citra are being discontinued, effective immediately.

-Bunnei

While the emulator isn’t exactly illegal, Nintendo found a loophole in what Yuzu does and proceeded with full intent to run it into the ground. In such cases, there isn’t any corporation in the gaming industry as terrifying as Nintendo.

The developers will not distribute the Yuzu source code on any websites or social media in the future. Everything regarding Yuzu will be discarded as the team has agreed to do so.

Additionally, the official website domain and information about Yuzu will be surrendered to Nintendo. The settlement also means that the developers will no longer create future software that can be considered harmful to Nintendo.

In addition to Yuzu, the team will let go of Citra. Both of the emulators will no longer be supported by the developer. It is worth noting that in the message on Discord, the developers claimed yet again that they were against piracy from the start. 

Nintendo might now target other popular Switch emulators. For the time being, the likes of Ryujinx remain afloat. However, if this incident is anything to go by, it may only be a matter of time before they are forced to suffer a similar fate.

It’s fair to assume Nintendo had a trump card up its sleeve. That is typically how settlements and negotiations work, and Nintendo is no stranger to going against emulation and hacking groups.

While it will come as bad news for many gamers, Yuzu’s open-source nature could lead to another scene continuing development regardless of this outcome.

Obaid Ur Rehman

[How-To Guides Expert]

Laiba, our tech guru at HI Digital, simplifies and crafts How-To Guides with a Google IT Support Certificate. Beyond tech, she captures the city’s aesthetics through her lens. Join her journey where tech meets creativity!

Get In Touch: Laiba@hidgt.com