Nintendo's legal game took a leap forward – by partnering with the FBI.
We all know by now that Nintendo, well, likes to keep things tight. Whether it's Palworld allegedly borrowing a bit too much from Pokémon, you trying to mod your Switch, or daring to pick a wrong username, the company has never been shy about drawing hard legal lines. But now? They’ve officially gone full boss mode – by bringing in the FBI.
Game Over For Nsw2u
So, what exactly was Nsw2u, the now-FBI-certified-gone website? In short: a digital candy store for anyone looking to skip the checkout line. The site was one of the most well-known sources for Nintendo Switch ROMs – full game files ripped from official cartridges or digital versions, reuploaded for the masses under the romantic banner of "preservation" (and the slightly less romantic reality of "not wanting to pay 60 bucks for a game from 2017"). Nsw2u specialized in hosting direct download links for just about every Switch game you could think of, often updated within hours of a new release. Whether it was indie gems, AAA releases, or even DLCs – if it ran on a Switch, chances were high Nsw2u had it.
Of course, none of this was exactly legal, which is why the site always existed in a bit of a cat-and-mouse game with Nintendo’s lawyers. But it ran for years, built a massive user base, and became one of the go-to piracy hubs online – until now.
Because this week, Nsw2u disappeared. Well, technically, the domain still shows up on Google – but click the link and you’re greeted with: “This website has been seized.” Officially, this was done under a seizure warrant from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, citing the usual alphabet soup of legal codes – specifically 18 U.S.C. 2323, which deals with criminal infringement of intellectual property. In short: not the kind of popup you can just click away.
The timing isn’t random, though. With the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, the company has clearly ramped up its efforts to scrub out unauthorized copies, rogue accessories, and anything else that smells remotely like a violation. Nintendo’s message is loud and clear: if you try to pirate our games, you’re not just dealing with some corporate legal department anymore. You’re dealing with the feds.
Nintendo is done playing nice. And if you’re still trying to score Breath of the Wild for free in 2025, you might want to make sure your VPN is... very, very good (No, don't do it!).