Nintendo wins lawsuit against streamer who livestreamed pirated games before release

Nintendo has successfully sued a Switch pirate who livestreamed pirated games prior to release.

Nintendo filed a lawsuit against streamer Jesse “Every Game Guru” Keighin last November, accusing Keighin of obtaining and streaming leaked titles on more than 50 occasions since 2022, including Mario & Luigi: Brothership and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, which were unreleased at the time.

The firm alleged that despite issuing dozens of takedown notices on platforms including YouTube, Twitch, and Kick, Keighin continued to stream unreleased games, use unlawfully modified consoles and emulators to play the leaked titles, and has shared links to emulators such as Yuzu and Ryujinx for viewers to use. According to the filing, Keighin sent a letter to Nintendo at the time “boasting” that he had “a thousand burner channels’ to stream” and would continue to use them.

Keighin, who did not appear in court to defend himself, has now been ordered to pay $17,500 in damages.

As reported by TorrentFreak, Nintendo claimed Keighin was “trafficking” illegal “circumvention devices,” causing “millions of dollars” worth of damage through “lost video game sales.”

The court also agreed to award an injunction against Keighin, but denied Nintendo’s request for an injunction against anonymous “third parties.” It also would not compel the “destruction” of the devices Keighin used, calling Nintendo’s demand “unclear” and “unreasonable” given it did not know who the third parties were or what the circumvention devices are.

Last month, Nintendo of America filed a lawsuit against Redditor James C. Williams, also known as ‘Archbox’, seeking $4.5 million in damages. NOA said it “has been, and continues to be, damaged as a direct and proximate result of Williams’ conduct,” which it claims includes pirating Switch games, promoting distribution across the internet, and trafficking circumvention software.