Nintendo is seeking $4.5 million in damages from a Reddit moderator accused of pirating its games

Nintendo is seeking $4.5 million USD in damages in a lawsuit against a Reddit moderator it has accused of pirating Switch games and distributing them alongside the software required to play them.

The details:

• As spotted by OatmealDome, a lawsuit was filed by Nintendo with the US District Court for the Western District of Washington earlier this month, requesting a default judgment regarding James “Archbox” Williams. According to the document, Williams failed to respond to the company’s previous lawsuit last year, which accused the online moderator of downloading, distributing, and promoting pirated Switch games via the r/SwitchPirates subreddit.
• Nintendo claims that after Williams was initially contacted in March 2024, he was ordered to shut down his “Pirate Shops,” which allowed users to access games illegally. However, despite having “acknowledged his conduct violated NOA’s rights and stated that he would work with NOA to satisfy its demands,” he allegedly “denied his involvement with the Pirate Shops in several respects” and didn’t state that he would stop providing his services.
• Nintendo would then ask for Williams to confirm that he would agree with the company’s demands with a written statement, but it's said that the alleged pirate “became combative and uncooperative.” It then filed a lawsuit in June 2024, during which it had only heard from William’s attorney once, with no contact from his side since January 2025.
• As a result of William’s inaction, Nintendo is now seeking a permanent injunction against him as well as $4.5 million in damages as part of a default judgment in the company’s favor. The $4.5 million figure can be broken down into $150,000 for each of the 30 first-party titles specified that were allegedly provided by Williams through his “Pirate Shops.”