While Nintendo will forever be engaged in the battle against piracy, it seems the company has just gotten a big helping hand from the FBI of all organizations. Yesterday, it was reported by Kotaku that the FBI has taken down one of the largest Switch piracy sites as part of a “law enforcement operation.” Nsw2u was a notorious repository for Switch ROMs, but now the website simply displays an image claiming it has been seized by the FBI and a Dutch organization known as FIOD.
As the image reads, the FBI seized the website and its domain “in accordance with a seizure warrant issued pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 2323 issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia as part of a law enforcement operation and action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” On Reddit, users were claiming to have still been able to download titles earlier in the morning, but that changed shortly into the day.
Considering how gung ho Nintendo has been about removing all traces of piracy and emulation off of the internet in recent years, it’s no surprise that Nsw2u was on the chopping block. Reportedly, the website had been added to the EU’s piracy watchlist back in May, and was instrumental in distributing ROMs of titles such as Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom before it was even available on store shelves. While I don’t believe Nintendo directly contacted the FBI for this operation, it likely assisted with information regarding what the site was doing.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
