A US federal court has sided with Nintendo in a case against Ryan Daly, the owner of Modded Hardware, who sold a Nintendo Switch bypass device that allowed official games to be played without physical cartridges and was often used for piracy, Engadget reports.
Daley sold MIG Switch cartridges, which allow you to install custom firmware, bypass security, and run unlicensed games. While they can be used to back up your own cartridges, in practice they are mostly used for piracy, which Nintendo sees as a direct threat to its business model.
According to the court's ruling, Daley must pay Nintendo $2 million, shut down the website, transfer the company's domain, and submit to a permanent ban on any activity related to circumvention devices. He is prohibited from creating, selling, promoting or investing in such products, as well as participating in related online projects.
Nintendo is actively fighting piracy and console modifications. Previously, the company was granted the right to block Switch from pirated games, and in 2024 it won a case against the developers of the Yuzu emulator, who agreed to pay $2.4 million and close the project.