Nintendo subpoenas Google, Discord, Reddit and more in ongoing Switch pirate crackdown

Nintendo is going after more unauthorized Switch shops and modders, and has asked a US District Court to subpoena business records from various firms in order to identify alleged pirates.

As reported by Game File, Nintendo is in particular targeting a subreddit called SwitchPirates, which boasts over 190,000 members.

This is a continuation of Nintendo’s lawsuit against James ‘Archbox’ Williams over various alleged piracy charges, which the company won via default judgement after Wiliams didn’t appear in court.

“Because Mr. Williams has elected not to appear in this action, [Nintendo of America] is not able to serve discovery on him or to take his deposition,” Nintendo said in the court file. “Accordingly, without third party discovery, it will be impossible for NOA to ascertain the identity of the unnamed individuals who worked with Mr. Williams in operating the pirate shops or otherwise making available to the public pirated Nintendo games. As set forth below, NOA has identified a number of third parties who are likely to have information that will assist NOA in identifying some of these unnamed individuals.”

Nintendo asked the US District Court for the Western District of Washington to subpoena companies including Cloudflare, Discord, Github, Google, and Reddit to identify people who allegedly engaged in piracy-related actions alongside Wiliams.

“Defendant [James Williams] was a primary moderator of the SwitchPirates community, under the name ‘Archbox,’ which boasted more than 190,000 members,” the court document further read. “Nintendo has reason to believe that other accounts active in the SwitchPirates community may also have been controlled by Defendant, or else reflect other individuals who have worked alongside Defendant.”

Nintendo also subpoenaed internet domain firms Go Daddy, Name Cheap, and Tucows.

“The purpose of all of the requested subpoenas is to seek relevant information that is necessary for [Nintendo of America] to pursue infringement claims,” the firm added.

Earlier this year, Switch emulator Ryujinx shut down following a request by Nintendo, and the platform holder also issued a copyright strike against a YouTube channel reviewing retro handheld emulators.

Nintendo also filed a lawsuit against streamer Jesse ‘Every Game Guru’ Keighin for broadcasting gameplay of ten pirated titles prior to release in November.

The company is also involved a lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair, which it filed in September. The studio faces claims of infringing three patents, as well as potential injunction and at least $65,000 in damages.