Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
SteamGridDB is a third-party website that allows users to customize and use alternate images for the games in their libraries. It’s a particularly popular tool among those playing games through an emulator, as those games don’t have official artwork listed. Images for some high-profile Switch titles appeared on the platform, and The Big N wasted no time acting on the matter. Nintendo has issued a copyright strike against SteamGridDB for screenshots of emulated Switch games.
Games Radar first reported that Nintendo sent a copyright strike to SteamGridDB over the appearance of Switch game screenshots on the platform. The specific games in question were Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It should be noted that SteamGridDB does not allow users to download and play Switch ROMs, just the images to use in their library.
Nintendo is notoriously protective over its IP, and the company’s philosophy lines up with its actions here. Interestingly enough, there are still images for less popular Switch games on SteamGridDB that weren’t targeted in the copyright strike. What’s more, some users have already begun to re-upload images that were recently removed from the platform.
After the Steam Deck was released earlier this year, word quickly got around that it’s a great place to emulate games. With the Switch’s hardware starting to show its age in recent years, and some users refusing to buy the console solely for its exclusive library, Switch emulation is becoming increasingly popular. Nintendo of course is adamantly against the pirating of its games and will do everything in its power to stop players from doing so. If there are any new wrinkles to this story, we’ll be sure to update the article.