The original Nintendo Switch quickly became a hotspot for piracy. Like many consoles, it suffered from illicit copying, but what set the Switch apart was the availability of powerful emulators that let people run enhanced versions of official games almost immediately after release — and sometimes even before. As teams begin work on Switch 2 emulation, developers warn the road ahead could be far longer and more difficult.
Two Switch 2 emulation efforts are attracting attention on GitHub. oboromi bills itself as a “work-in-progress emulator foundation,” while Pound describes itself as an “early-stage emulator.” Pound’s project page now includes a stark, all-caps caution: “IMPORTANT: THIS PROJECT WILL NOT BE READY FOR A DECADE MINIMUM!”
That dynamic — combined with widespread piracy of pre-release Switch titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — helps explain Nintendo’s aggressive stance toward Switch 1 emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx. Emulators are legal in principle, but distributing copyrighted games and console system files crosses the line into piracy. Nintendo claimed Yuzu improperly used Switch decryption keys; while that contention was never fully litigated, it concluded with the Yuzu team agreeing to a $2.4 million settlement.
Emulation plays a vital role in preserving games for future generations, yet its association with pirated copies is an unavoidable concern for publishers. I expect that at some point a functional Switch 2 emulator will emerge — but don’t count on using it to play Mario Kart World for free in 2025.
Source: gamesradar.com
