Well, that was fast. Just a little more than a week after reports of Nintendo’s lawsuit against the open-source Switch emulator, Yuzu, came to light, its creators, Tropic Haze have basically thrown in the towel. And all without a fight.
It should be noted that, in light of the Nintendo lawsuit, Tropic Haze announced that it had retained the services of a lawyer. Unfortunately, it appears that that didn’t do much to sway the case in their favour.
— yuzu (@yuzuemu) March 4, 2024
As part of the settlement between the parties, the Yuzu creators have agreed to pay Nintendo a sum of US$2.4 million (~RM11.35 million). In addition to the monetary settlement, Tropic Haze will also no longer be allowed to offer or market any of Yuzu’s source code, nor are they allowed to create any future software that circumvents the game company’s technical protection. Further, the company must surrender all website domains and information related to the Switch emulator.
Yuzu first appeared on the scene in 2018 and was developed using C++. The emulator has been used extensively to run Nintendo Switch games on platforms that obviously aren’t the Switch, with gaming handhelds such as the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally being the most current examples. To Nintendo, the idea of its most popular Switch titles running non-Switch hardware is egregious enough that it accuses Tropic Haze of “facilitating piracy on a colossal scale”.
Whatever the case, one thing is clear: Yuzu will cease to exist after this.
