Nintendo Switch emulator Ryujinx has ceased development

A developer was contacted by Nintendo of America with "an agreement" to stop working on the project.

The emulator scene for Nintendo is one fraught with cease and desists, and the latest to feel the wrath of Nintendo is Ryujinx. The project was working on emulating Nintendo Switch titles.

On October 1, 2024, X user OatmealDome brought it to the social media platform’s attention that Ryujinx has ceased development with all downloads and GitHub repositories having been removed. The user offered a screenshot of the project’s Discord channel showing a message outlining the reason behind the project ceasing development.

According to the message, Nintendo contacted gdkchan and “offered an agreement to stop working on the project, remove the organization and all related assets he’s in control of.” The post goes on to state that the organization has been removed while they were waiting on confirmation as to whether gdkchan would accept the offer.

This situation with Ryujinx isn’t the first time a Nintendo emulator has ceased development and it probably won’t be the last. It was just in March 2024 that the Yuzu developer ceased distribution of a Switch emulator and had to pay Nintendo $2.4 million in settlement fees.

Outside of the emulator scene, Nintendo has recently filed a lawsuit against Palworld parent company Pocketpair Inc. The lawsuit is on the grounds that Palworld infringes multiple patent rights. The game’s developer has responded stating it is “unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon.”

For now, it seems like Switch emulation will continue to be stopped by Nintendo. Take a look at our Nintendo Switch page for more information on the Big N’s phenomenally successful console-handheld hybrid.