Nintendo Wins $4.5M in Switch Piracy Lawsuit Against Modder

Nintendo of America has secured a $4.5 million default judgment against a man accused of running several online shops that distributed pirated Nintendo Switch games.

The ruling, issued Wednesday by US District Judge Lauren King in Washington, concludes a lawsuit originally filed in June 2024 against James Williams, known online as “Archbox.”

Williams was a prominent figure in the console modding community and a leading moderator of the r/SwitchPirates subreddit. In its filings, Nintendo alleged he was the “operator, overseer, and driving force” behind multiple digital storefronts that allowed users to download illicit copies of Nintendo Switch titles.

Because Williams failed to respond to the lawsuit or appear in court to defend himself, the judge granted Nintendo’s request for a default judgment. The court awarded the company the maximum statutory damages it requested in its October 2025 filings.

“NOA [Nintendo of America] has demonstrated that Williams promoted online shops offering pirated Nintendo game files and circumvention software, encouraged others to contribute pirated Nintendo games to his pirate shops, and assisted others in distributing pirated Nintendo Switch games,” Judge King wrote in her order. She added that Williams was fully aware his actions violated federal copyright laws.

The court also issued a permanent injunction. Washington court clerk Joshua C. Lewis stated in the ruling that Williams must “immediately disable access to all online ‘shops’ that he operates or otherwise controls which have offered to the public extensive libraries of pirated Nintendo Switch games for download.”

How Nintendo Tracked Down “Archbox”

The methods Nintendo used to identify Williams highlight how aggressively the company pursues copyright enforcement across digital platforms.

According to court documents reported by Game File in 2024, Nintendo’s legal and security teams identified Williams by linking his Reddit account activity to his official Nintendo user account. Investigators noticed that Williams had submitted a standard hardware repair request to Nintendo’s customer service department.

That repair ticket contained his real name and home address. Nintendo repaired the hardware and shipped it back to him, effectively confirming his physical location. Just days after the package arrived, Nintendo sent him a formal cease-and-desist letter. When Williams reportedly ignored the warning and continued his moderation and distribution activities, Nintendo initiated formal legal action.

The company’s lawsuit argued that Williams actively solicited donations in the form of Nintendo eShop gift cards and retail game copies. Those games were then copied, decrypted, and uploaded to his online repositories for public download.

A Broader Legal Campaign

The default judgment is part of a calculated legal strategy by Nintendo to dismantle the infrastructure supporting Switch piracy, targeting both software distribution and hardware modification.

While the Nintendo Switch is now in its seventh year and nearing the end of its primary console lifecycle, the secondary market for hardware modifications and circumvention tools remains highly active. Nintendo has historically pursued hardware modders, ROM hosting sites, and software emulator developers with extensive and costly litigation.

The $4.5 million judgment against Williams follows several similar legal actions:

• The Yuzu Settlement: In early 2024, Nintendo sued Tropic Haze, the developers behind the popular Switch emulator Yuzu. The developers quickly settled for $2.4 million and agreed to cease all operations and take their code offline.

• Team Xecuter: In one of the most high-profile gaming piracy cases in recent years, Nintendo pursued the leaders of Team Xecuter, a group that manufactured and sold hardware devices capable of bypassing the Switch’s security. Gary Bowser, a public-facing member of the group, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $14.5 million in restitution.

• Modded Hardware: Earlier in 2024, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Modded Hardware, a separate entity that sold physical hardware kits designed to bypass the Switch’s internal security measures.

International Rulings

Nintendo’s legal efforts extend beyond US courts. The company recently achieved a significant victory in Europe targeting a new generation of circumvention hardware.

Earlier in September, the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands ruled that selling Mig Switch flash cartridges violates copyright law. The Mig Switch is a relatively new device that mimics an authentic Switch game cartridge, allowing users to load and play unauthorized backup copies of games without needing to physically modify the console’s internal hardware.

“Nintendo’s message to players is to avoid purchasing or using circumvention devices, circumvention software or unauthorised copies of video games,” the company said following the Dutch ruling, noting that using such software increases the risk of interfering with the functionality of authentic hardware.

What Happens Next

Because the case against Williams ended in a default judgment, it did not produce a trial. This means legal arguments regarding the nuances of console modification, software preservation, and digital ownership were not debated or tested in open court.

The r/SwitchPirates subreddit remains active with thousands of members, though Williams is no longer listed as a moderator.

Williams is now legally compelled to shut down his remaining digital infrastructure. It remains unclear how Nintendo intends to collect the $4.5 million judgment, as individual defendants in digital piracy cases rarely possess the assets required to pay such large statutory fines. However, the judgment allows Nintendo to garnish future wages or seize assets, effectively serving as a harsh financial deterrent to other potential modders and operators.