Nintendo wins $2 million settlement over Mig Switch piracy tools as crackdown on ROMs and emulators intensifies
Nintendo has notched another high-profile anti-piracy win, settling a U.S. federal lawsuit against Ryan Daly, who the company said ran the Modded Hardware storefront and sold the Mig Switch and related devices. Under the settlement, Daly must pay $2 million and is permanently barred from distributing similar products.
According to filings, the devices marketed through Modded Hardware enabled buyers to copy and play pirated Nintendo Switch games. The Mig Flash Dumper was used to extract game data from cartridges, while the Mig Flash, paired with a microSD card, could be recognized by the console’s Game Card slot. Nintendo also alleged that pirated games and hacked consoles were sold to customers. The court’s order cites violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act alongside copyright infringement.
The Mig Switch became a priority target for enforcement due to its popularity and ease of use. After firmware updates reportedly allowed the device to function with the upcoming Switch 2, Nintendo stepped up legal action. Some users who attempted to go online with modified cartridges have reportedly faced service bans.
This settlement arrives amid a broader, sustained effort to curb piracy across the Nintendo Switch ecosystem. In July, federal authorities seized the NSw2u domain, a well-known source for downloadable Switch ROMs. On the PC side, Nintendo previously reached a $2.4 million settlement and secured a permanent injunction against the developers behind the Yuzu emulator, which had been used to run pirated copies of games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Despite these wins, the modding and piracy scene remains active. Third-party shops continue to market modded consoles and Mig-branded hardware, and emulators and ROMs still circulate on various websites. With the next-generation Switch 2 on the horizon, hackers are already looking for ways to bypass new protections, setting up an ongoing cat-and-mouse game between platform security and would-be circumvention tools.
What this means for players and resellers is straightforward. Nintendo is moving aggressively to protect its platform, and recent outcomes show courts are backing those efforts with permanent injunctions and multimillion-dollar penalties. Users who experiment with modified cartridges or unauthorized downloads risk online bans and potential legal exposure, while sellers face significant financial and legal consequences. For anyone invested in the Switch ecosystem, sticking to legitimate software and accessories is the safest path as enforcement ramps up ahead of the next hardware generation.
