Nintendo has filed a lawsuit against Tropic Haze LLC, the makers of the well-known Switch emulator Yuzu, and the suit could have major implications on gaming if they win — but that's a big "if."

Emulators such as Yuzu have been legally protected for years, even though using emulators to play pirated software remains illegal. Nintendo's legal argument appears to put forth the case that Yuzu has helped facilitate software encryption circumvention and thus, piracy.

Unlike previous emulation and piracy software that got in trouble for using illegal material (such as Dolphin, which came bundled with keys to access Wii games), Yuzu has not directly stolen anything from Nintendo. Instead, it provides instructions on how to access Nintendo games, which Nintendo is arguing makes it "secondarily liable for the infringement committed."

Furthermore, Yuzu was allegedly aware it was being used to pirate games. Nintendo has pointed to Yuzu's Discord server, which regularly featured discussions on how to get pirated games running with Yuzu. The Tears of the Kingdom leak from 2023 is a particular sticking point, as Yuzu devs even publicly acknowledged that the hotly anticipated game was the most popular game played on Yuzu.

Still, there are some legal uses for emulators, which Yuzu will have to highlight if it wants to defend itself, according to legal expert Jon Loiterman, who spoke to Ars Technica yesterday. These include making backup copies of games, a practice that is legally protected, and adding homebrews to the Switch.

Unfortunately for Yuzu users, of which a hefty bunch is helping the team make $30,000 a month on Patreon, it could be that Yuzu is headed for the same fate as anything else that falls under Nintendo's legal hammer: A swift takedown due to being unable to match Nintendo's pockets for a legal battle.

This could have major implications for video game emulation, as it may embolden other video game companies to attack legally grey emulation services.