Genki to pay Nintendo to settle lawsuit over Switch 2 design leak

Genki, a manufacturer of accessories and toys that revealed the design of the Switch 2 handheld console before its official announcement, has agreed to pay Nintendo to settle a lawsuit from the Japanese game developer, The Verge reports.

Genki's parent company, Human Thing, will pay an undisclosed amount and also agree not to give its products names that could resemble Nintendo properties.

In May, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Genki, alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, and misleading consumers over a Switch 2 mockup that Genki brought to CES 2025. Meanwhile, the company began promoting various accessories for the console even before its announcement.

The Japanese company's lawsuit alleges that Genki did not have access to the console's official specifications or design. Nintendo believes that the company wanted to take advantage of the Switch 2 hype to undermine sales of original accessories.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In the documents, Genki said it did not have access to the Switch 2 before the announcement, but did not explain where it got the data for the mockup. The company can still mention Nintendo branding on its products, but only in cases where it confirms compatibility or clearly indicates that it is a third-party accessory manufacturer.

Earlier this month, Nintendo also won a lawsuit against a Switch modding site that was often used for piracy, forcing the site's owner to pay $2 million.