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How Nintendo’s Switch Piracy Case Against Archbox Ended in a $4.5 Million Judgment
On September 23, 2026, a federal court awarded Nintendo $4.5 million and issued a permanent injunction against James “Archbox” Williams. The damages award was based on 30 copyrighted games, with $150,000 awarded for each title.
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Key takeaways
- On September 23, 2026, a federal court awarded Nintendo $4.5 million and issued a permanent injunction against James “Archbox” Williams.
- The damages award was based on 30 copyrighted games, with $150,000 awarded for each title.
- The injunction requires Williams to disable access to piracy shops he operates or controls and bars conduct covered by the court’s order.
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openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: How did Nintendo’s June 2024 piracy lawsuit against James “Archbox” Williams—whom it accused of helping run and promote multiple Switch game. Article summary: Nintendo’s case ended by default, not after a trial: Williams did not answer or defend the lawsuit, and on September 23, 2026, the federal court granted Nintendo’s request for a $4.5 million judgment and a permanent inju. Topic tags: general, general web. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermarks, charts with fake numbers, clic
Nintendo’s lawsuit against James C. Williams, known online as “Archbox,” ended with a $4.5 million default judgment and a permanent injunction. The key procedural point: Williams did not respond to the case, so the court granted Nintendo’s request without a trial in which he contested its claims.10
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What Nintendo accused Williams of doing
Nintendo accused Williams of helping operate and promote online shops offering pirated Nintendo Switch games. Its case also involved software used to circumvent the console’s technological protections.10
24 Those were Nintendo’s allegations; the case ended by default rather than after a contested trial.
Why the court entered a default judgment
Williams failed to respond to the lawsuit, and Nintendo asked the court to enter judgment by default. On September 23, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted the motion and awarded Nintendo the $4.5 million it sought.10
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A default judgment is not a verdict reached after both sides present their arguments at trial. Here, the court ruled after Williams did not defend against the action.3
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How the $4.5 million was calculated
The award covered 30 copyrighted games identified in the case. The court awarded $150,000 per title, totaling $4.5 million.19
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What the permanent injunction requires
The order requires Williams to immediately disable access to online shops he operates or controls that offered pirated Nintendo Switch games for download. It also bars him from continuing the infringing and circumvention-related conduct covered by the injunction.10
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The outcome is therefore both financial and practical: Nintendo received the requested damages, and the court ordered the shutdown of the covered shops. But the case’s default posture matters—the judgment followed Williams’s failure to respond, not a trial testing the allegations against a defense.10
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What is the short answer to "How Nintendo’s Switch Piracy Case Against Archbox Ended in a $4.5 Million Judgment"?
On September 23, 2026, a federal court awarded Nintendo $4.5 million and issued a permanent injunction against James “Archbox” Williams.
What are the key points to validate first?
On September 23, 2026, a federal court awarded Nintendo $4.5 million and issued a permanent injunction against James “Archbox” Williams. The damages award was based on 30 copyrighted games, with $150,000 awarded for each title.
What should I do next in practice?
The injunction requires Williams to disable access to piracy shops he operates or controls and bars conduct covered by the court’s order.