After a series of pre-release leaks for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom from emulator users, Nintendo reportedly contacted Switch emulator lead developer Ryujinx and shut down the project.
As of this writing, the main page of the Ryujinx website remains unchanged, but the download page has had links and resources removed.
While no official announcement has been made on behalf of the Ryujinx team, messages on the emulator’s Discord server served as the source of this news – X user OatmealDome shared a screenshot from the now-locked server below:
While the message claims that lead developer gdkchan has reached an agreement with Nintendo to shut down the project and delete all funds, the finer details of said agreement or confirmation of the project’s termination remains to be seen.
This, of course, comes on the heels of a $2.4 million settlement in March between Nintendo and another Switch emulator, Yuzu, after The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom also fell victim to a pre-release leak last year.
If true, the end of Ryujinx, combined with the settlement of Yuzu, would mark the defeat of two of the most famous and used Nintendo Switch emulators. And with his lawsuit against Palworld pending, Nintendo’s legal ninjas and copyright experts have already set their sights on their next target.
