A Washington federal court has issued a default judgment ordering James Williams, a Reddit moderator known as "archbox", to pay Nintendo $4.5 million for distributing pirated Switch games. As a leading moderator of the r/SwitchPirates community, Williams allegedly solicited donations of eShop gift cards and game copies to be distributed through online pirate stores, then promoted these shops and assisted others in circumventing copyright protections. This ruling reinforces Nintendo's escalating legal campaign against digital piracy, following multiple copyright victories in recent years.

The $4.5 million award comprises $150,000 per violation across 30 copyrighted titles, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Luigi's Mansion 3, and Pikmin 4. Williams received the judgment by default after failing to respond to Nintendo's 2024 lawsuit, and the court has ordered him to immediately disable access to all alleged pirate shops and shut down any social media accounts used to distribute copyrighted games. Judge Lauren King's order emphasises that Williams knowingly violated copyright laws whilst orchestrating the piracy operation.