Yuzu (emulator)

Yuzu used a network service called Boxcat as a replacement for Nintendo's BCAT dynamic content network.{{cite web|url=https://yuzu-emu.org/help/feature/boxcat/|title=Boxcat|publisher=yuzu emulator team|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015231945/https://yuzu-emu.org/help/feature/boxcat/|archive-date=October 15, 2019|access-date=October 15, 2019}} This feature was later removed due to being non-functional. The implementation was planned to eventually be replaced with one that allows the use of local BCAT files dumped from a Nintendo Switch.{{cite web|title=Remove Boxcat BCAT backend by Morph1984 · Pull Request #7102 · yuzu-emu/yuzu|url=https://github.com/yuzu-emu/yuzu/pull/7102|access-date=2022-01-17|website=GitHub|language=en}}

Yuzu also offered a resolution rescaling feature that simulates docked, undocked and beyond-native resolutions. After initially adding support for beyond-native resolution, the feature was removed again due to stability issues and inconsistent behaviour on different GPU vendors shortly after.{{cite web|title=Resolution Rescaler · yuzu|url=https://yuzu-emu.org/help/feature/resolution-rescaler/|access-date=2022-01-17|website=yuzu|language=en-us}}{{cite web|title=Implement Native Resolution Rescaling by FernandoS27 · Pull Request #2860 · yuzu-emu/yuzu|url=https://github.com/yuzu-emu/yuzu/pull/2860|access-date=2022-01-17|website=GitHub|language=en}} Two years after the removal, the feature was finally readded under the codename "Project A.R.T".{{cite web|title=Project A.R.T. Advanced Rendering Techniques by FernandoS27 · Pull Request #7219 · yuzu-emu/yuzu|url=https://github.com/yuzu-emu/yuzu/pull/7219|access-date=2022-01-17|website=GitHub|language=en}}

In December 2019, Yuzu added an experimental Vulkan renderer to its Early Access build and brought it over to its mainline builds.{{cite web|url=https://yuzu-emu.org/entry/yuzu-vulkan/|title=New Feature Release - Vulkan|last=CaptV0rt3x|date=December 3, 2019|publisher=yuzu emulator team|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203191704/https://yuzu-emu.org/entry/yuzu-vulkan/|archive-date=December 3, 2019|access-date=December 3, 2019}} On May 9, 2020, the development team announced an update that included experimental multi-core CPU emulation{{cite web |title=New Feature Release - Prometheus · yuzu |url=https://yuzu-emu.org/entry/yuzu-prometheus/ |website=yuzu |access-date=17 May 2020 |language=en-us}}{{cite web |last1=Palumbo |first1=Alessio |title=Yuzu, the Nintendo Switch Emulator, Can Now Take Advantage of Multicore CPUs |url=https://wccftech.com/yuzu-the-nintendo-switch-emulator-now-takes-advantage-of-multicore-cpus/ |website=Wccftech |access-date=17 May 2020 |date=9 May 2020}} codenamed Prometheus.

In November 2020, Yuzu's developers added online functionality to the emulator but removed it shortly thereafter.{{cite web|last=Lilly|first=Paul|date=November 4, 2020|title=Popular Yuzu Nintendo Switch Emulator Adds Online Support, Quickly Backtracks|url=https://hothardware.com/news/yuzu-nintendo-switch-emulator-online-support-backtracks|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104165451/https://hothardware.com/news/yuzu-nintendo-switch-emulator-online-support-backtracks|archive-date=November 4, 2020|access-date=November 10, 2020|website=HotHardware}}{{cite web|last=Plunkett|first=Luke|date=November 3, 2020|title=Nintendo Switch Emulator Adds Online Support, Quickly Regrets It|url=https://kotaku.com/nintendo-switch-emulator-adds-online-support-quickly-r-1845565068|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105043400/https://kotaku.com/nintendo-switch-emulator-adds-online-support-quickly-r-1845565068|archive-date=November 5, 2020|access-date=November 10, 2020|website=Kotaku}}

In June 2021, Fastmem support was added to early access builds of Yuzu.{{cite web|url=https://yuzu-emu.org/entry/yuzu-fastmem/|title=Fastmem Support|access-date=June 13, 2021}}

In July 2021, Yuzu concluded the "Project Hades", which aimed to rewrite the shader decompiler, bringing an improvement of the overall performance of the emulator.{{cite web|title=New Feature Release - Shader Decompiler Rewrite · yuzu|url=https://yuzu-emu.org/entry/yuzu-hades/|access-date=2021-12-13|website=yuzu|language=en-us}}

In a statement to PC Gamer, the developers of Yuzu said that they were interested in potential optimizations to the emulator for use on the Steam Deck.{{Cite news |last=Fenlon |first=Wes |date=2021-07-26 |title=Emulator developers see tons of potential in the Steam Deck |language=en |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/emulator-developers-see-tons-of-potential-in-the-steam-deck/ |access-date=2022-09-25}}

On May 30, 2023, an Android version was released.{{Cite web |last=Conway |first=Adam |date=2023-05-31 |title=Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu officially comes to Android |url=https://www.xda-developers.com/yuzu-emulator-android-released/ |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=XDA Developers |language=en}}

Development ended on March 4, 2024, after Tropic Haze LLC, the legal entity representing Team Yuzu, settled a lawsuit with Nintendo of America, resulting in the shutdown of operations for both Yuzu and Citra emulators.

In October 2018, Kotaku published an article noting that Super Mario Odyssey was playable. The author of the article expressed concern with the ability of Yuzu to emulate games that were available commercially at the time.{{cite web|url=https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2018/11/02/super-mario-odyssey-is-already-playable-in-an-emulator|title=Super Mario Odyssey is Already Playable in an Emulator|last=Plunkett|first=Luke|date=November 2, 2018|website=Kotaku|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190714183945/https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2018/11/02/super-mario-odyssey-is-already-playable-in-an-emulator|archive-date=July 14, 2019|access-date=July 14, 2019}} This would eventually lead to a legal battle against Nintendo.

PC Gamer noted that the emulator was able to run Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! shortly after the games' release, albeit with audio issues.{{cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-pokemon-lets-go-running-on-pc-thanks-to-yuzu-emulator/|title=Watch Pokémon: Let's Go running on PC thanks to Yuzu emulator|last=Horti|first=Samuel|date=November 24, 2018|website=PC Gamer|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704133523/https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-pokemon-lets-go-running-on-pc-thanks-to-yuzu-emulator/|archive-date=July 4, 2019|access-date=July 4, 2019}}

In October 2019, Gizmodo published an article noting that Yuzu was able to emulate some games at a frame rate roughly on par with the actual console hardware.{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/this-nintendo-switch-emulator-for-the-pc-might-finally-1838779028|title=This Nintendo Switch Emulator for the PC Might Finally Be as Good as the Actual Console|last=Liszewski|first=Andrew|date=October 4, 2019|website=Gizmodo|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120031046/https://gizmodo.com/this-nintendo-switch-emulator-for-the-pc-might-finally-1838779028|archive-date=November 20, 2019|access-date=October 15, 2019}}

Since 2021, various outlets have reported that Yuzu can run on the Steam Deck, enabling play of Nintendo Switch games on the system.{{Cite news |last=Fenlon |first=Wes |date=2021-07-26 |title=Emulator developers see tons of potential in the Steam Deck |language=en |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/emulator-developers-see-tons-of-potential-in-the-steam-deck/ |access-date=2022-09-24}}{{Cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Ollie |date=2022-07-25 |title=Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Has Leaked And Is Fully Playable On The Steam Deck |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/07/xenoblade-chronicles-3-has-leaked-and-is-fully-playable-on-the-steam-deck |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=Nintendo Life |language=en-GB}}{{Cite news |last=James |first=Dave |date=2022-03-08 |title=Steam Deck vs Nintendo Switch |language=en |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-vs-nintendo-switch/ |access-date=2022-09-24}}{{Cite news |last=Fenlon |first=Wes |date=2022-02-25 |title=The Steam Deck is already the emulation system of my dreams |language=en |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-emulation-installation/ |access-date=2022-09-24}}{{Cite web |last=Coyle |first=Anne-Marie |date=2022-03-03 |title=Nintendo really doesn't want you to use Switch emulators on Steam Deck |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/nintendo-really-doesnt-want-you-to-use-switch-emulators-on-steam-deck/ |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=GamesRadar |language=en}}

Following the publication of a story by Kotaku on October 9, 2021, which covered the ability of both Yuzu and Ryujinx (another Switch emulator) to play Metroid Dread,{{Cite web|last=Zwiezen |first=Zack |date=2021-10-09 |title=Metroid Dread Is Already Running Great On Switch Emulators |url=https://kotaku.com/metroid-dread-is-already-running-great-on-switch-emulat-1847833403 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009211511/https://kotaku.com/metroid-dread-is-already-running-great-on-switch-emulat-1847833403 |archive-date=9 October 2021 |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=Kotaku}} Nintendo contacted the site's editorial team requesting a revision of the article, which was seen as encouraging piracy of the title. Kotaku responded by updating the article to remove language that was interpreted as such, and apologized to readers for the error. However, in an editorial addendum, they maintained that they believed emulation to be an important part of video game preservation efforts and that their coverage of the emulators did not equate to an encouragement to pirate the game.{{Cite web |last=Zwiezen |first=Zack |date=2021-10-09 |title=Metroid Dread Is Already Running On Switch Emulators |url=https://kotaku.com/metroid-dread-is-already-running-great-on-switch-emulat-1847833403 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829022225/https://kotaku.com/metroid-dread-is-already-running-great-on-switch-emulat-1847833403 |archive-date=2022-08-29 |access-date=2022-09-25|website=Kotaku |language=en-us}}

After the publicization of Yuzu's ability to run on the Steam Deck, several YouTube videos providing guidance on how to do so were taken down. Though it was not known who had issued the takedowns, outlets reporting on the news believed that it was Nintendo, given their past history of issuing DMCA takedown notices against unofficial content creators.{{Cite news |last=Ishraq |first=Subhan |date=2022-03-03 |title=Steam Deck Nintendo emulation videos are disappearing from YouTube |language=en-gb |work=Eurogamer |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/steam-deck-nintendo-emulation-videos-are-disappearing-from-youtube |access-date=2022-09-25}}{{Cite web |last=Galekovic |first=Filip |date=2022-03-03 |title=Nintendo Blocking Videos Showing How to Emulate Games on Steam Deck |url=https://gamerant.com/nintendo-blocking-videos-emulate-switch-games-steam-deck/ |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=Game Rant |language=en-US}}

On August 23, 2023, Denuvo announced that they had developed "Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection", a new digital rights management solution for Nintendo Switch titles which aims to allow developers to block play via emulators such as Yuzu.{{Cite web |last=Dedmon |first=Tanner |date=2022-08-25 |title='Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection' Announced by Controversial Anti-Piracy Company |url=https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/nintendo-switch-emulator-denuvo/ |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=ComicBook.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Shepard |first=Kenneth |date=2022-08-25 |title=Denuvo Launching Switch Emulator Protection at Behest of Publishing Partners |url=https://www.fanbyte.com/games/news/denuvo-launching-switch-emulator-protection-at-behest-of-publishing-partners/ |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=Fanbyte |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2023-08-23 |title=Denuvo security is now on Switch, including new tech to block PC Switch emulation |url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/denuvo-security-is-now-on-switch-including-new-tech-to-block-pc-switch-emulation/ |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=VGC |language=en-GB}}

On February 26, 2024, Nintendo of America filed a lawsuit against Tropic Haze LLC, the legal entity behind Team Yuzu.{{Cite web |last=Seedhouse |first=Alex |date=February 27, 2024 |title=Nintendo Sues Creators Behind Yuzu Switch Emulator |url=https://www.nintendo-insider.com/nintendo-sues-creators-behind-yuzu-switch-emulator/ |access-date=February 27, 2024 |website=Nintendo Insider}}

On March 4, 2024, Tropic Haze LLC settled in their lawsuit with Nintendo of America for $2.4 million, leading to Yuzu shutting down its operations.

On March 5, 2024, the Yuzu source code was forked by a different development team as "Suyu" (pronounced as "sue-you"; the name is also a tongue-in-cheek play on Nintendo's history of litigation).{{Cite web |date=2024-03-12 |title=Creators Of New Switch Emulator 'Suyu' Hope To Avoid Nintendo's Wrath |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/03/creators-of-new-switch-emulator-suyu-hope-to-avoid-nintendos-wrath |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=Nintendo Life |language=en-GB}} A contributor said, "Suyu currently exists in a legal gray area we are trying to work our way out of. There are multiple plans and possibilities for what to do next. Things are still being organized and planned."{{Cite web |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=2024-03-11 |title=Here's how the makers of the "Suyu" Switch emulator plan to avoid getting sued |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/03/heres-how-the-makers-of-the-suyu-switch-emulator-plan-to-avoid-getting-sued/ |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}} On March 21, 2024, after a DMCA takedown request, Suyu was removed from GitLab; the takedown notice cited violations of its anti-circumvention provisions, and warned that the platform's hosting of the code could constitute trafficking of an anti-circumvention device. After some hours, its leader decided to move to a self-hosted repository.{{Cite web |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=2024-03-22 |title=Switch emulator Suyu hit by GitLab DMCA, project lives on through self-hosting |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/03/switch-emulator-suyu-hit-by-gitlab-dmca-project-lives-on-through-self-hosting/ |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |last=Hollister |first=Sean |date=2024-03-22 |title=GitLab confirms it's removed Suyu, a fork of Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/21/24108191/gitlab-suyu-nintendo-switch-emulator-takedown |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=The Verge |language=en}} In April 2024, chat platform Discord banned the accounts and servers of Suyu, another fork titled Sudachi, and their lead developers.{{Cite web |last=Hollister |first=Sean |date=2024-04-11 |title=Discord is nuking Nintendo Switch emulator devs and their entire servers |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/11/24127545/discord-suyu-sudachi-server-shutdown-account-ban |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=The Verge |language=en}} Suyu has since switched to a self-hosted chat service. On 13 February 2025, Suyu announced ceasing of development {{Cite web|url=https://chat.suyu.dev/channel/announcements?msg=0czPGU0xnVBMkM1II.

A second Yuzu fork, called Torzu, has also appeared. It is notable for having its main git repository and development done in the Tor network. While takedown notices from Nintendo have taken down mirrors of the fork from GitHub and similar services,{{Cite web |url=https://torrentfreak.com/nintendo-targets-switch-emulators-suyu-nuzu-uzuy-torzu-and-sudachi-240710/ |title=Nintendo Targets Switch Emulators Suyu, Nuzu, Uzuy, Torzu, and Sudachi}} the Tor-based hidden services remain active.

On April 29, 2024, Nintendo of America filled a DMCA takedown notice to GitHub, resulting in the shutdown of 8,353 forks.{{Cite web |last=Roth|first=Emma|date=2024-05-03|title=Nintendo DMCA takedown wipes over 8,500 Yuzu emulator copies|url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/3/24147936/nintendo-dmca-takedown-yuzu-emulator-copies|website=The Verge |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Nintendo DMCA takedown notice |url=https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2024/04/2024-04-29-nintendo.md|website=GitHub}}

• Nintendo Switch emulation
• Video game console emulator
• Citra Emulator

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite web |title=Yuzu Nintendo Switch Emulator for PC |url=https://download.zone/yuzu-nintendo-switch-emulator-for-pc/ |website=Download Zone |date=May 22, 2021 |access-date=17 February 2025 }}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20240229065115/https://yuzu-emu.org/game/ Game compatibility list]
• [https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/Yuzu Yuzu] page on Emulation General Wiki

{{Nintendo emulators}}

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