Switch emulator Yuzu reaches $2.4 million settlement with Nintendo

Update (3/4/2024): Ahead of the judge's settlement approval, Yuzu confirmed its impending shut down. It and its support of Citra (a Nintendo 3DS emulator from the same creators) are being discontinued, "effective immediately."

Further, its Discord and Patreon are being shut down alongside its code repositories, and its websites will later follow.

In its statement, Yuzu said it "[did] not intend to cause harm," but admitted its software led to "extensive piracy." It went on to say it's "deeply disappointed" with its users, adding that "piracy of video games and on consoles should end."

"We hope our actions will be a small step toward ending piracy of all creators' works."

Original story: Nearly a week after Nintendo filed a lawsuit against it, emulator Yuzu is paying the developer a $2.4 million settlement.

In a recent joint filing, parent company Tropic Haze LLC sided with Nintendo's stance on its subsidiary's alleged piracy. It's completely wiping its hands clean of Yuzu, and will no longer offer anything from the emulator to the public.

Yuzu's status as a Nintendo Switch emulator has been well-known for years. Its minor inclusion in a Steam Deck sizzle reel drew some attention in 2022, to the point said reel later had to edit it out.

The big Tears of the Kingdom Leak and Yuzu

Nintendo argued the emulator exists to "unlawfully pirate" Nintendo Switch games. It claimed Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's pre-release leak was partially Yuzu's fault, alleging it was downloaded over 1 million times.

As part of the settlement, Nintendo will own Yuzu's domain name. Tropic Haze will also delete its Yuzu copies and "all circumvention tools" used to access or develop it, including physical devices.

Nintendo has never really been a fan of emulators, and previously taken legal action against them in the past. It's just as hard on them as it is pirates.

At time of writing, a judge still has to approve the filed settlement. Yuzu, as noted by Polygon, remains operational, as does its Patreon.