Reddit mod who pirated Switch games ordered to pay $4.5 million in damages to Nintendo
Nintendo has once again triumphed in its never-ending war against pirates. In 2024, Nintendo accused former Reddit moderator James Williams, known online as “Archbox” and the former moderator of the now-defunct r/SwitchPirates subreddit, of distributing pirated Switch games. On 23 September, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ordered Archbox to pay $4.5 million in damages to Nintendo.
Nintendo’s Statement and Claims
The case began when Nintendo sent James a cease-and-desist in March 2024 after gathering conclusive proof of his activities. Nintendo then filed a document in U.S. District Court seeking $4.5 million in damages. According to Nintendo, “Since 2019, Williams has been either directly or indirectly the owner, manager, operator, creator, administrator, supplier, and/or overseer of several online Pirate Shops, and has worked to actively promote these Pirate Shops to communities consisting of many thousands of individuals.”
The following claims have been made regarding Archbox’s activities:
- Using his position as a Reddit Moderator to Distribute and Promote Pirated Content: Archbox’s activities as a leading moderator of the defunct r/SwitchPirates subreddit, which hosted more than 190,000 members, included promoting his online pirate shops and distributing games for free through the platform. He also frequently requested “donations” of Nintendo eShop gift cards so he could purchase other Switch games that had not been pirated yet.
- Operating and Managing Pirate Shops: Archbox operated at least 4 Pirate Shops and was involved with several others. These Shops were marketplaces for distributing Switch games freely, with some offering a “Pro” tier through Nintendo eShop gift card donations that granted the “Pro” account owner access to games not publicly available for piracy yet.
- Lead Member of “Missing Dumps”: Nintendo also claims that Archbox was the “primary representative and only lead member” of Missing Dumps, an online community responsible for securing Nintendo eShop gift cards to gain access to unpirated Switch games and expand the library of existing Pirate Shops.
- Creating and Distributing Software for Bypassing Protections on Switch Games: Archbox played a significant part in “creating, promoting, and distributing” software that could bypass protections on Switch games, allowing them to work when pirated.
Archbox’s Response
Archbox's lack of response directly led to the current judgment. Although Archbox deleted his Reddit account and stopped his activities as soon as the first cease-and-desist arrived in March 2024, he did not acknowledge the complaint. U.S. District Judge Lauren King said he and his lawyer knew about the complaint because he hired one to object to a Google subpoena, but he chose not to respond or acknowledge it. Moreover, Archbox’s posts on Reddit, where he outright declared that he was a “pirate” and “[is]n’t going to give Nintendo $50 for a game.”
Final Verdict
Nintendo was granted their request for the statutory maximum of $150,000 per title for 30 games, which they assumed were pirated the most. This includes titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, etc. This was considered “not an unrealistic estimate” of lost sales, assuming each game cost $50.
Judge Lauren King stated, “Williams’ egregious infringement activities merit substantial punishment here.” Surprisingly, Nintendo did not request any DMCA damages or attorneys’ fees, which the court marked as a “gesture of reasonableness.” Finally, Judge King also issued a permanent injunction for Archbox, barring him from pirating and distributing Nintendo games, along with any software that might enable him to do so. He must also cease his pirate shops and other related activities, and disable any social-media accounts used to promote piracy and pirated content.
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