Nintendo of America won a $4.5 million default judgment in October 2025 against James Williams, a former Reddit moderator who operated online pirate shops distributing unauthorized Nintendo Switch game files. Williams failed to respond to the copyright infringement lawsuit originally filed in June 2024.
A federal judge in Washington State ordered the heavy financial penalty after a lengthy investigation uncovered the digital footprint of James Williams, known online by the handle Archbox. Williams served as a lead moderator for the r/SwitchPirates community on Reddit, where authorities say he promoted a network of dedicated pirate shops offering free access to commercial Nintendo titles.
The Investigation and Identification of Archbox
Nintendo’s legal team tracked Williams across social media platforms before linking his online alias to internal corporate databases. Williams was reportedly uncovered through an in-depth investigation by the company and its lawyers, which tracked them through their Archbox persona on Reddit. Nintendo then matched the details it found on the social media platform to its internal database and discovered that it was linked to a Nintendo account that had a handheld sent in for repairs. A few days after the unit was returned to Williams’ address, the company sent a cease-and-desist, to which the defendant allegedly replied via email.
Nintendo said in its filing that Williams agreed to comply and cooperate with the company’s demands and requests that are within their control but has since cut-off communications. Because of this, it asked the court for a default judgment in October 2025, which the court finally granted. Because Williams ignored the legal proceedings for months, Nintendo requested a default judgment, which was officially granted by the Western District Court of Washington.
Statutory Damages Calculated Across Thirty Infringing Titles
The $4.5 million award breaks down to $150,000 for each of the 30 copyrighted video games named directly in the legal complaint. The targeted software catalog includes major first-party releases such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Pikmin 4, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
In the default judgment ruling, Judge Lauren King detailed the scope of the defendant’s copyright violations. The court found that Williams actively built and supported illicit distribution networks.
NOA [Nintendo of America] has demonstrated that Williams promoted online shops offering pirated Nintendo game files and circumvention software, encouraged others to contribute pirated Nintendo games to his pirate shops, and assisted others in distributing pirated Nintendo Switch games, even though he knew such activity violated copyright laws, Judge Lauren King in the ruling
Judge Lauren King, Western District Court of Washington
Permanent Injunction and Online Shutdown Order
Alongside the multimillion-dollar fine, the court issued strict injunctive relief aimed at dismantling the distribution networks. Court clerks Joshua C. Lewis and deputy clerk Natalie Wood signed off on the directive requiring immediate technical compliance from the defendant.
To effectuate this injunction, Williams shall immediately disable access to all online ‘shops’ that he operates or otherwise controls which have offered to the public extensive libraries of pirated Nintendo Switch games for download,
Washington court clerk Joshua C. Lewis and deputy clerk Natalie Wood said in the default judgement filing.
Nintendo’s Broader Legal Campaign Against Switch Emulation
This case adds to an aggressive series of copyright enforcement actions pursued by the Japanese gaming giant over the past few years. Recently, the company won a case in the Netherlands, where the court ruled that the sale of Mig cartridges, which allow pirated copies of games to be played, was illegal.
While collecting the full $4.5 million may prove difficult given the defendant’s lack of communication, industry observers note that the primary objective of these lawsuits is to serve as an example to discourage others from pirating their games.
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