Last week, Nintendo took Tropic Haze, the developer of the popular Switch emulator Yuzu, to court for allowing users to play its games on PC. It was alleged that the emulator allows users with an internet connection to “unlawfully decrypt and play virtually” any game on the platform.
It was also said that there is no lawful way for the emulator to play the game without decrypting encryption. The developer, Tropic Haze, has agreed to shut down the emulator, and as the lawsuit is coming to a close, several replacements have already started to surface on the internet.
Nintendo Switch Emulator Yuzu’s Replacements Are Already Online
Nintendo must have thought that the shutdown of Yuzu would make things better for it as a developer, but it turns out that more emulators have landed online, across social media sites, attempting to take its place. Some of the emulators have surfaced merely hours after the announcement from Tropic Haze.
Although emulators say that they are legal, Nintendo has made its stance clear that it is against any type of emulation. The company states on its website that it acknowledges the player’s passion, but emulation leads to “illegal piracy.” It also adds that copies of copyrighted video games can also not be made as they are “unauthorized and infringing.”
It claimed in the lawsuit against the emulator that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was downloaded illegally more than a million times with the emulation software before the game was even released properly, among other several games. It said that the game leaked more than a week before its official release.
The company also added that “thousands of additional paid members” of the emulator only signed up for “early access, build, and play unlawful copies” of Tears of the Kingdom. However, no comment about the newly surfaced emulation software has been made by Tropic Haze or Nintendo as of yet, and it remains to be seen if the company takes any actions against these emulators.
Yuzu Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle the Lawsuit
The developer, Tropic Haze, will be paying a $2.4 million settlement to Nintendo. It released a statement on March 4th saying that the emulator is shutting down and will soon be removed from the internet.
The company will also surrender the emulator’s domain to the company and delete all copies of the emulation software. It said that the support of sister emulator Citra is also being discontinued, saying that it has always been “against piracy” and is “deeply disappointed” that the users have used the emulator to leak the game.
It said that shutting down the emulator would be a step closer to “ending piracy of all creators’ works.” This decision hasn’t been finalized yet, but the filing has been done by both parties, so it is only a matter of time before the case is settled.
What are your thoughts about the shutdown of Yuzu? Let us know in the comment section below.
