Skip to main content

The Nintendo DS emulator Drastic is now free as Yuzu lawsuit fallout begins

The Nintendo DS emulator Drastic is now free as Yuzu lawsuit fallout begins

/

Tell us if you see more impact from Nintendo’s lawsuit.

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

The Nintendo Switch logo on a black background with waves of thin red concentric rounded squares around it.
Illustrations by Alex Castro / The Verge

One day after the Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu utterly folded in the face of Nintendo’s lawsuit, it’s not yet clear what other parts of the emulation community might have to fear. But the Yuzu settlement already took the Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra down with it, and it’s not the only change the community’s making seemingly out of an abundance of caution.

The developer of popular Nintendo DS emulator Drastic just made its app completely free on Android (previously $4.99), and it intends to pull it down for good. Exophase wrote on its official Discord that “I want to make it clear that I don’t have any kind of financial incentive” and that Nintendo’s move simply “made the whole process more urgent”:

“I just changed the app on GPlay to free. I don’t intend to even have it on there for that much longer,” Exophase begins.
“I just changed the app on GPlay to free. I don’t intend to even have it on there for that much longer,” Exophase begins.
Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

After the Yuzu lawsuit, developer Bunnei is not just done emulating Nintendo consoles — they’re apparently “leaving the emulation scene for good.” Bunnei didn’t respond to our request to confirm this:

Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

On Thursday, March 7th, the developer of the Pizza Boy emulators for Game Boy Advance, Game Boy and Game Boy Color pulled both his paid and free emulators off the Google Play Store, saying that “my family comes first”:

This was posted in the Pizza Emulators Discord. I featured Pizza Boy in my Z Flip 5 / GBA SP video.
This was posted in the Pizza Emulators Discord. I featured Pizza Boy in my Z Flip 5 / GBA SP video.
Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Meanwhile, a popular Discord server for the Steam Deck has at least temporarily shut down its entire emulation channel, writing, “We are not equipped to deal with potential legal repercussions of hosting discussions on Yuzu or emulation at this time” and apologizing for “the need to censor.”

The Steam Deck Discord says it was “bullied into a decision we’re against” but doesn’t say who the bullies were.
The Steam Deck Discord says it was “bullied into a decision we’re against” but doesn’t say who the bullies were.
Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

When I went looking for the Discord server for Ryujinx, another Nintendo Switch emulator, I found it was no longer accepting invites. The Verge and Ars Technica have both reached out to Ryujinx to comment on the Yuzu lawsuit, but we haven’t heard back yet.

Ryujinx opened its Discord invites again the same day; a moderator there says they were paused multiple times because thousands of refugees from the Yuzu Discord were pouring in.

I wonder if Ryujinx is okay.
I wonder if Ryujinx is okay.
Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

A Ryujinx developer also reportedly left the project following the Yuzu settlement, though they say they’d already been “mostly inactive on the project for the past year and a half” due to “a lack of motivation and time.”

Another second-order effect: without Yuzu and Citra, all-in-one emulation providers like the popular EmuDeck have to look elsewhere for the underlying emulators. EmuDeck is falling back to Ryujinx for Nintendo Switch emulation and is testing Panda3DS instead of Citra:

“This is not a good news announcement :(“ writes EmuDeck’s lead developer.
“This is not a good news announcement :(“ writes EmuDeck’s lead developer.
Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

If you see or hear any other repercussions from Nintendo’s lawsuit and Yuzu’s collapse, please reach out to me at sean@theverge.com. We’d like to explain if and how the scene might be changing.

Update, March 6th 12:21PM ET: Added that invites to the Ryujinx Discord were temporarily paused because of an influx of Yuzu refugees.

Update, March 6th 9:14PM ET: Added reports that Bunnei, and a Ryujinx developer, have left projects behind following the settlement.

Update, March 7th: Added that Davide Berra, developer of Pizza Boy emulators, has pulled them down.