Popular Switch emulator on Android shuts down in response to Nintendo’s latest DMCA order

Emulators on Android have long given gamers the ability to play their favorite games from older consoles without having to actually own them. While the best emulators can bring you back to the glory days of the PlayStation 2 or the GameCube, some companies are not thrilled with them. Nintendo has been at odds with emulators for years and after filing a new DMCA order, a popular Switch emulator will be shutting down.

Skyline, an emulator that ran Nintendo Switch games on Android, is the latest one to shutter. On the Skyline Discord server, the team announced that they would be halting development of the emulator after Nintendo filed a DMCA order against Lockpick RCM, which allowed Skyline to legally acquire Switch game keys (via Mishaal Rahman). Nintendo claims that Lockpick violates their copyright, and the developers will no longer support Skyline as they want to avoid any legal ramifications of violating copyright laws.

The Skyline team maintains that they believed what they were doing was legal and that the emulator itself is legal. They will also keep the repository up, albeit in read-only form, while making parts of the source code widely available.

It’s unclear what prompted Nintendo to file the DMCA order at this time, but it could be because of a particular game launching Friday. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo’s most-anticipated game of the year, comes out Friday and given its immense popularity, the Japanese company could want to make sure everyone who wants to play it buys it through legal means.

Even though Skyline is shutting down, most emulators will still be up and running this week. The best Android emulators for Windows and Mac will help you find your favorite mobile games on your computer so you don’t have to play them on your phone.