Nintendo wins $4.5 million in Switch piracy case against James Williams

• The case centers on allegations that Williams was involved in Switch piracy, distributing illegal games, and bypassing Nintendo’s security.
• The sources mention more than 30 Switch titles, including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

What happened

Nintendo has reportedly been awarded $4.5 million in damages in a federal case in Washington against James Williams, better known as ‘Archbox’. The lawsuit was filed in June 2024 and centers on allegations that Williams ran a Switch piracy operation. In the supplied reporting, the case is described as a default judgment, meaning Williams did not respond to the proceedings.

According to the information provided, Williams is said to have used software described as a circumvention tool to bypass Nintendo’s systems and gain access to more than 30 Switch games. The sources also link him to multiple so-called pirate shops and to the distribution of illegal games and tools. The articles further say he was a former moderator of r/SwitchPirates, which Nintendo argues placed him closer to the spread of that content.

The sources also report that Nintendo sought the statutory maximum of $150,000 per title after Williams allegedly failed to respond to the lawsuit. That request fits the way damages are sometimes calculated per work in copyright cases. The exact breakdown behind the final $4.5 million figure is not fully detailed in the supplied material, but the named titles and the number of games involved make clear that Nintendo took a broad approach to the case.

Among the games mentioned in the reporting are The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Eurogamer converts the award to roughly £3.4 million, reflecting the same damages in another currency without changing the core claim. The supplied sources also mention a permanent ban on distributing Nintendo piracy-related content and encouraging it, although the precise legal scope of that injunction is not fully spelled out in the material.

Background

The case fits into Nintendo’s broader crackdown on Switch piracy and tools that bypass the platform’s security. The sources are not only about file sharing, but also about software and services that Nintendo says were designed to access games outside the official distribution channel. That makes this case broader than a single file or download link, because the allegations also target the infrastructure behind the distribution.

The named titles show how broadly Nintendo framed the case. In addition to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, more than 30 Switch games are said to have been involved. The sources also mention a permanent ban on distributing Nintendo piracy-related content and encouraging it, although the exact scope of that order is not fully detailed in the supplied material. It is also unclear, based on the information provided, whether the $4.5 million award is fully final or could still be challenged in later proceedings.

Eurogamer’s summary cites a figure of about £3.4 million, which matches the U.S. damages award in dollars. The different sources therefore agree on the core point: Nintendo has reportedly won a default judgment against Williams, and the case concerns the alleged distribution of Switch games and the bypassing of security. What remains unclear is which specific websites or shops are covered by the injunction and how broadly the ban is legally written.

Sources

• GameSpot: Switch pirate ignored Nintendo’s lawsuit, now he owes $4.5 million
• IGN: Nintendo wins $4.5 million from Reddit mod who sold pirated Switch games
• Eurogamer: Nintendo Archbox Reddit Switch piracy 3.4 million