Nintendo has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, accusing a Reddit moderator of long-term operation and widespread distribution of pirated Nintendo Switch games. The company is seeking a default judgment, $4.5 million in damages, and a permanent injunction to prevent future infringing activities. 
According to court documents, the defendant is James Williams, known online as "Archbox." Nintendo alleges that since 2019, Williams has actively participated in establishing and promoting multiple piracy websites, referred to as "Pirate Shops," which offered illegal downloads of Nintendo games to the public for free on a global scale. These sites even featured a "Pro tier," granting access to additional unreleased pirated games in exchange for Nintendo eShop gift card donations.
Nintendo further states that Williams was not only one of the primary administrators but also the lead moderator of the Reddit group "SwitchPirates," which boasts 190,000 members. He allegedly posted thousands of messages over a long period, encouraging piracy and even openly soliciting eShop gift cards as "donations." Furthermore, he was the sole leader of a community called "Missing Dumps," which specifically aimed to purchase games that had not yet been pirated to complete their illicit library. 
The documents indicate that in addition to distributing games, Williams was involved in creating and distributing circumvention software designed to bypass Nintendo's anti-piracy technology. He even assisted in setting up overseas mirror sites to prevent official takedowns.
Reports state that Nintendo contacted Williams in March 2024, demanding he immediately shut down the piracy sites. Although he acknowledged the illegality of his actions, he refused to comply. Nintendo subsequently filed suit in June of the same year, accusing him of multiple counts of copyright infringement and the sale of circumvention tools.
The lawsuit documents indicate that since January 2025, Nintendo has received only one response from Williams' lawyer, after which the defendant completely ceased communication. As Williams failed to mount any defense, Nintendo requested the court issue a default judgment, asserting that the infringement was "willful." 
Under the U.S. Copyright Act, willful infringement can result in statutory damages of up to $150,000 per copyrighted work. Nintendo has chosen to sue over 30 of its first-party games, seeking the maximum damages per title, for a total of $4.5 million.
Nintendo emphasized that the defendant's distribution of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of pirated games across multiple platforms caused severe commercial damage. The company also stated that while it reserves the right to seek additional damages related to the circumvention software, it is currently focusing solely on the game infringement aspect. The court is scheduled to hear Nintendo's motion for default judgment on October 24, 2025.
via： VGC