Nintendo has had 144 GitHub repositories removed that held firmware and files for Switch modchips, the small boards fitted inside a console to let it run pirated games. The repositories were open-source projects until Nintendo’s lawyers filed a copyright notice against them.
The notice, filed under the US copyright takedown law (DMCA), names the SX Core, SX Lite, Picofly and HWFLY chips. GitHub accepted it and disabled the repositories, according to a copy of the notice published in GitHub’s own takedown archive dated 6 November.
Nintendo’s argument, as set out in the notice, is that the firmware lets a modchip get around the console’s copy protection by taking over the boot sequence, so that the Switch will run illegal copies of games. It adds that sharing such firmware is itself unlawful trafficking in circumvention tools, not just the chips.
The notice also leans on an earlier case. Three people were charged in 2020 over modchip use, a case that led to the arrest of Gary Bowser of Team-Xecuter, the group behind the SX chips. Bowser was sentenced to 40 months in prison and released in 2023. Bowser pleaded guilty, so no judge has ruled on the chips themselves. A takedown notice does not require such a ruling, though, and GitHub acted on the claim as filed.
Team-Xecuter began making and selling circumvention devices in 2013. Washington has put the group’s takings in the tens of millions of dollars, with losses to the industry of up to $150 million. The notice’s list of chips is not exhaustive: it says the repositories covered the named chips “including but not limited to” those four.
