Major Nintendo emulator apps for Android devices are being pulled from the Google Play store, including popular Game Boy and Game Boy Advance emulators from developer Pizza Emulators.
Pizza Emulators announced this week that it has chosen to remove all of its emulation apps in order to “prioritize my family over the development of my apps,” according to a statement posted on the company’s Discord server. The withdrawal of the apps comes on the heels of Nintendo’s high-profile lawsuit against Switch emulator developer Tropical Haze.
Tropical Haze agreed earlier this week to pay Nintendo $2.4 million in damages and cease operations of its Switch emulator software called Yuzu. Nintendo accused Tropical Haze of facilitating piracy “at a colossal scale,” stating that over 1 million illegal copies of games like ‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ had been downloaded to be played on Yuzu.
While Pizza Emulators did not directly reference legal threats from Nintendo, the company’s founder Davide Berra stated, “My family comes first, and for this reason, I have chosen to prioritise my family over the development of my apps.”
This wave of emulator shut downs has dismayed some gaming preservation advocates. While Yuzu enabled illegal access to current Switch games, emulators like Citra for the 3DS gave users a way to play older games that are no longer sold by Nintendo. Nintendo closed the 3DS digital shop in March 2023, eliminating access to many games unless users resort to emulators.
The removal of these major emulation apps indicates Nintendo’s willingness to pursue legal action against unauthorized distribution of its games.
With litigation pressures mounting, emulator developers are increasingly shutting down operations even when not directly targeted by Nintendo lawsuits. Preemptive closures of emulators may lead to further concerns around game preservation for Nintendo’s older platforms.