The Nintendo Switch emulator Ryujinx is no longer officially available for download. The project’s Github went down earlier today, leading to speculation that Nintendo had filed a DMCA against it. However, an announcement in the official Ryujinx Discord server made it clear that the lead developer, gdkchan, pulled the files down willingly after Nintendo approached him with an agreement.
Why did the Ryujinx emulator go down?
The Ryujinx Switch emulator was pulled offline by its lead developer after Nintendo contacted him. While details are scarce, another developer on the project outlined the issue in the project’s official Discord:
“Yesterday, gdkchan was contacted by Nintendo and offered an agreement to stop working on the project, remove the organization and all related assets he’s in control of. While awaiting confirmation on whether he would take this agreement, the organization has been removed, so I think it’s safe to say what the outcome is. Rather than leave you with only panic and speculation, I decided to write this short message to give some closure.”
While it hasn’t been confirmed that gdkchan has accepted Nintendo’s agreement, the fact that the official repository for Ryujinx has been taken down isn’t a good sign.
Reactions from other developers on the project indicate that gdkchan didn’t inform them beforehand that he would be taking the emulator down. He also hasn’t made any statement in Discord.
Unlike Yuzu, which was taken down (along with Citra) after a lawsuit against the creators, Nintendo took a more subtle approach with Ryujinx. There’s speculation that this is because gdkchan lives in Brazil, and Nintendo would have difficulty taking him to court in that country.
This situation highlights the ongoing tension between emulator developers and major gaming companies. With the fall of Ryujinx, no major Switch emulators are in active development. Some forks of Yuzu are still floating around, but with Nintendo’s crackdown, the Switch emulation community has effectively flatlined.
