The free open-source Switch emulator Yuzu made headlines a few weeks ago when it was released on Android devices.
Now, in somewhat related news, the unofficial and top Yuzu piracy subreddit ‘r/NewYuzuPiracy’ has been banned. According to PC Gamer, the subreddit – covering Switch game piracy “as well as emulation” – jumped from around 37,000 members on 1st May to more than 70,000 members before it was shutdown earlier this week.
The subreddit was banned “due to a violation of Reddit’s content policy against creating or repurposing a sub to constitute or serve the same objective as a previously banned or quarantined subreddit”. It was originally created in May 2020 after ‘r/YuzuPiracy’ was banned in April 2020.
The new subreddit had reportedly “grown dramatically” in recent weeks following the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Switch. It apparently ended up becoming the “de facto home” for discussion about mods in the new Zelda as well as how to download and emulate the game.
Kotaku uploaded images of the subreddit openly sharing Tears of the Kingdom game download links, with many users mentioning prior to the shutdown how it was only a matter of time before the sub was terminated.
There’s no mention of Nintendo having any involvement in this latest shutdown, but the creator of the Switch and Mario made the news last month after the Dolphin Emulator project for Valve’s Steam service was indefinitely postponed.
