Saturday, September 26th 2026

Court Orders Reddit Moderator to Pay Nintendo $4.5 Million Over Switch Piracy

by
DrUsmanSaleem
 Discuss (81 Comments)
A federal court in Washington has ordered Reddit moderator James "Archbox" Williams to pay Nintendo $4.5 million in damages over alleged Nintendo Switch piracy. US District Judge Lauren King granted Nintendo's motion for default judgment in full on September 23, along with a permanent injunction barring Williams from distributing pirated games or circumvention tools. Nintendo filed the lawsuit in June 2024, accusing Williams of running a network of so-called "Pirate Shops" offering libraries of pirated Switch games to the public.

According to the complaint, Williams promoted these shops through the r/SwitchPirates subreddit, where he served as lead moderator, and allegedly solicited eShop gift card donations to fund additional pirated titles. Williams never responded to the lawsuit. The court noted he had hired an attorney at one point to contest a Google subpoena, but he did not answer Nintendo's claims. Since he failed to respond, the court treated the complaint's allegations as true, which is standard for default judgments rather than a ruling on contested evidence.
The $4.5 million figure reflects the statutory maximum of $150,000 per title across 30 Switch games named in the suit, including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. This is not new territory for Nintendo either. Nintendo previously sued the Yuzu Emulator team for circumventing its software encryption and facilitating piracy. The order in this new judgment also requires Williams to shut down any remaining pirate shops and disable accounts tied to the case, including on Reddit, Discord, and Telegram, many of which already appear inactive.
Sources: Judgment, TorrentFreak

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81 Comments on Court Orders Reddit Moderator to Pay Nintendo $4.5 Million Over Switch Piracy

#1
FierceRed
*sip*



Nintendo just doesn't play.
Posted on Reply
#2
Solaris17
Super Dainty Moderator
DrUsmanSaleemAccording to the complaint, Williams promoted these shops through the r/SwitchPirates subreddit, where he served as lead moderator, and allegedly solicited eShop gift card donations to fund additional pirated titles.
lol idiot
Posted on Reply
#3
u2knetwork
people still complaining about Piracy? everyone just be free and have fun :peace:
Posted on Reply
#5
Verpal
What's the logic behind not even be bothered to write a single letter to at least contest Nintendo's claim? The court at this point have no other reasonable choice but to issue a default judgement.
Posted on Reply
#6
Uncle Gon
He'll probably appeal this now that he needs to pay. Still ludicrous that the court just accepted Nintendo's damages numbers because the respondent ignored the suit. You can just claim any million dollars in damages and you'll get a favorable decision if the other side is too dumb / broke to respond? If there was a real life infinite money bug, this would be it.
Posted on Reply
#7
windwhirl
Lol, fuck the guy. You can't charge money for pirated stuff.
Posted on Reply
#8
Fatloader
Wow, he must score really high on the stupid test. Honestly, how can you be a lead mod for the literal "SwitchPirates" subreddit and think it's gonna end well? I'm just surprised that this didn't end sooner lol.
Posted on Reply
#9
FR3D1
Ninja Cat
VerpalThe court at this point have no other reasonable choice but to issue a default judgement.
As if that had changed anything.
windwhirlLol, fuck the guy. You can't charge money for pirated stuff.
Nothing is truly free. Elsewhere, you simply pay with advertising.

Regards,
Fred.
Posted on Reply
#10
AsRock
TPU addict
FierceRed*sip*



Nintendo just doesn't play.
Maybe i missed some thing but he gone fcked as ablow, one thing you don't do is that.
Since he failed to respond, the court treated the complaint's allegations as true, which is standard for default judgments rather than a ruling on contested evidence.
FR3D1As if that had changed anything.


Nothing is truly free. Elsewhere, you simply pay with advertising.

Regards,
Fred.
Yeah proberly knew he was screwed, but it don't help either way, even more so what you be required to pay.

Judges tend to not like time wasters.
Posted on Reply
#11
N3utro
Simply said he was a thief and a scammer. Good riddance.
Posted on Reply
#12
FR3D1
Ninja Cat
@N3utro
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Regards,
Fred.
Posted on Reply
#13
Hecate91
"Since he failed to respond, the court treated the complaint's allegations as true, which is standard for default judgments rather than a ruling on contested evidence."
So much for innocent until proven guilty, then again it wouldn't have mattered if he contested the claims, Nintendo can likely afford better lawyers.
However this person was incredibly stupid to advertise and sell pirated games.
Posted on Reply
#14
Bigshrimp
Nintendo is ruthless. Pretty wild that this guy probably didn't do his research before going on his "business venture". No one escapes Nintendo if they have it out for you, especially if you are pirating their games for profit (or for less, lol)...
Posted on Reply
#15
R-T-B
u2knetworkpeople still complaining about Piracy? everyone just be free and have fun :peace:
That assumes programmers have no intellectual property rights.

I'm anti-DRM mind, and even see some instances where companies might literally be ASKING for it, but being outright pro-piracy is a level even I won't stoop too.
FR3D1@N3utro


Regards,
Fred.
I have never pirated a game. Can I stone him now?
umeng2002People actually use Reddit?
I use reddit. It's got problems, but so does anywhere. Using that as a baseless insult is pretty weak not gonna lie.
Posted on Reply
#16
Let3r
FR3D1Nothing is truly free. Elsewhere
“If you can’t figure out what the product is, your the product.”
Posted on Reply
#17
u2knetwork
umeng2002People actually use Reddit?
I got ban for reddit for sharing my truthful opinion about violent repeat offenders, i guess reddit cuddles criminals. So i left, but came back only because there are some subs i like to engage in now like AMD, gaming and other stuff. but reddit is a strict site. but it is good for useful quick information.
Posted on Reply
#18
FR3D1
Ninja Cat
R-T-BI have never pirated a game. Can I stone him now?
It’s just that piracy isn’t the only thing one could be guilty of.

Regards,
Fred.
Posted on Reply
#19
Rowsol
Let3ryour the product
My the product?
Posted on Reply
#20
N3utro
FR3D1Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
From the forum guidelines:
Avoid political or religious comment unless it is specifically relevant to a topic and in those cases is only acceptable if done in an unbiased manner
I don't think defending this guy qualifies as unbiased.
Posted on Reply
#21
FR3D1
Ninja Cat
N3utroFrom the forum guidelines:
I like seeing things like that. Thank you for that!
N3utroI don't think defending this guy qualifies as unbiased.
For one thing, we don't know the person personally; for another, they haven't caused anyone any physical or emotional harm. Of course, you are free to continue indulging in your schadenfreude apart from that.

Regards,
Fred.
Posted on Reply
#22
N3utro
FR3D1For one thing, we don't know the person personally; for another, they haven't caused anyone any physical or emotional harm. Of course, you are free to continue indulging in your schadenfreude apart from that.
I wasn't trying to argue if this guy deserves to be punished or not when I replied to your message, I was pointing out that if you want to argue about it you shouldn't do it by quoting a message of religious nature as the forum guideline says.

It's your right to think that guy didn't deserve this punishment, even if I disagree. And yes i'm definitively indulging in my schadenfreude. I didn't know this word even though I speak German so thank you for this amusing knowledge :)
Posted on Reply
#23
ZoneDymo
N3utroSimply said he was a thief and a scammer. Good riddance.
What did he steal and what was this scam then?
Posted on Reply
#24
AsRock
TPU addict
u2knetworkpeople still complaining about Piracy? everyone just be free and have fun :peace:
N3utroI wasn't trying to argue if this guy deserves to be punished or not when I replied to your message, I was pointing out that if you want to argue about it you shouldn't do it by quoting a message of religious nature as the forum guideline says.

It's your right to think that guy didn't deserve this punishment, even if I disagree. And yes i'm definitively indulging in my schadenfreude. I didn't know this word even though I speak German so thank you for this amusing knowledge :)
He did not turn up and ignored them, he deserves what comes around. His own fault and a sign of guilt and lack of respect for the court.

Has nothing to do with it being nintendo.

FAFO.
Posted on Reply
#25
ZoneDymo
windwhirlLol, fuck the guy. You can't charge money for pirated stuff.
It's not that easy, what if they just ask for or have the option to receive donations, a tip jar if you will? Remember the guy making drivers for Creative Xfi soundcards so they would work on modern systems (where Creative rather had you buy new cards)? They received donations for their work and Creative sent them a Cease and desist .....guess f that guy as well huh?
VerpalWhat's the logic behind not even be bothered to write a single letter to at least contest Nintendo's claim? The court at this point have no other reasonable choice but to issue a default judgement.
I wonder if it's similar to the dunovo lawsuit and you can't actually get this guy, sure they can shut down the subreddit but maybe the guy lives in Russia or China or what have you
Posted on Reply
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