By The initial Switch encountered a pirating dilemma. Most gaming mechanisms face this issue, but the Switch stood out as some powerful emulators were obtainable throughout the platform’s existence, enabling pirates to access enhanced iterations of official releases from their debut – sometimes even beforehand. While certain developers are attempting to develop Switch 2 emulators, they are already cautioned that this could be a significantly longer endeavor.
At present, there are two notable Switch 2 emulation initiatives, both of which have repositories on GitHub. oboromi brands itself as a “work-in-progress emulator foundation,” while Pound is described as “a preliminary emulator.” Pound also recently refreshed its page with a striking, all-caps alert: “IMPORTANT: THIS PROJECT WILL NOT BE READY FOR AT LEAST A DECADE!”
Coupled with extensive piracy of pre-release Switch titles like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, one can begin to comprehend why Nintendo adopted a more stringent approach than usual against Switch 1 emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx. Emulators are, on their own, entirely legal – it’s the distribution of copyrighted titles and system software that crosses into piracy. Nintendo asserted that Yuzu improperly utilized Switch’s decryption keys, and while that statement was never legally contested, it sufficed to persuade the Yuzu developers to settle for $2.4 million.
Emulators serve as a crucial resource in preserving the accessibility of games for future generations, yet their application in playing pirated titles is equally undeniable for publishers. I have no doubt that at some point in the future, a fully operational Switch 2 emulator will emerge – though perhaps it is for the best that individuals won’t be utilizing one to play Mario Kart World for free in 2025.