# US court awards Nintendo $4.5m after Switch piracy case

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/reddit-mod-ordered-to-cough-up-4500000-to-nintendo-in-long-running-switch-piracy-case/
- Published: 2026-09-25T16:19:57+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-25T22:35:59+00:00
- Original publisher: Nintendo Life
- Original article: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2026/09/reddit-mod-ordered-to-cough-up-usd4500000-to-nintendo-in-long-running-switch-piracy-case
- Topics: Entertainment, Gaming, Software, Technology

## Key points

- Court awards Nintendo $4.5 million against pirate mod who ignored legal proceedings
- Williams must shut down all piracy shops and related social media accounts immediately
- Recovery of damages remains uncertain as defendant has been largely uncontactable

## Summary

A US court has formally entered a default judgment against James "Archbox" Williams, a Reddit moderator accused of operating pirate shops selling unauthorised Nintendo Switch games, concluding a legal battle that began in 2024. Nintendo of America was awarded $4.5 million (approximately £3.4 million) in copyright damages after Williams failed to respond to or defend himself in court proceedings. This represents a significant enforcement victory for Nintendo in its ongoing battle against video game piracy, establishing legal precedent through the default judgment mechanism.

The court has imposed a permanent injunction requiring Williams to immediately shut down all online piracy shops under his control and close associated social media platforms. Court documents allege that Williams' operations distributed thousands, potentially hundreds of thousands, of unauthorised copies of Nintendo Switch games across multiple pirate shops. However, Williams has remained largely uncontactable since the lawsuit began, with his last communication occurring in January 2025 through a lawyer, leaving substantial uncertainty about whether Nintendo will actually recover the awarded damages.

## Coverage

- [Nintendo Life: US court awards Nintendo $4.5m after Switch piracy case](https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2026/09/reddit-mod-ordered-to-cough-up-usd4500000-to-nintendo-in-long-running-switch-piracy-case)
- [GameSpot: Switch Pirate Ignored Nintendo’s Lawsuit, Now He Owes $4.5 Million](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/switch-pirate-ignored-nintendos-lawsuit-now-he-owes-4-5-million/)

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.