Nintendo Just Updated Its User Agreement—And It’s Looking a Lot More Aggressive

Nintendo is tightening the leash, and this time, they’re not being subtle about it. The company just dropped a sweeping revision to its Account Agreement and Privacy Policy, and let’s just say—it’s not looking particularly friendly if you’re the modding type.

According to a report from Game File, these changes went live on May 7th, 2025, and now apply to all accounts, new and existing. And we’re not talking minor tweaks—analysts noted over 100 changes made to the agreement. Unsurprisingly, most of the new rules target unauthorized console use, emulators, and modded software.

The Original Clause vs. The New Wall of Legalese

Let’s start with what players agreed to before May 6th:

“You are not allowed to lease, rent, sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble all or any portion of the Nintendo Account Services without Nintendo’s written consent, or unless otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law.”

Pretty standard, right?

But now, in the U.S., that section has been replaced with this much more aggressive chunk:

“Without limitation, you agree that you may not (a) publish, copy, modify, reverse engineer, lease, rent, decompile, disassemble, distribute, offer for sale, or create derivative works of any portion of the Nintendo Account Services; (b) bypass, modify, decrypt, defeat, tamper with, or otherwise circumvent any of the functions or protections of the Nintendo Account Services, including through the use of any hardware or software that would cause the Nintendo Account Services to operate other than in accordance with its documentation and intended use; (c) obtain, install or use any unauthorized copies of Nintendo Account Services; or (d) exploit the Nintendo Account Services in any manner other than to use them in accordance with the applicable documentation and intended use, in each case, without Nintendo’s written consent or express authorization, or unless otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with the foregoing restrictions Nintendo may render the Nintendo Account Services and/or the applicable Nintendo device permanently unusable in whole or in part.”

Yeah, you read that right—they might brick your console if it determines you’ve violated these terms.

The UK Clause Isn’t Much Softer

For players in the UK, the update includes similarly sharp language:

“Any Digital Products registered to your Nintendo Account and any updates of such Digital Products are licensed only for personal and non-commercial use on a User Device. Digital Products must not be used for any other purpose. In particular, without NOE’s written consent, you must neither lease nor rent Digital Products nor sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of Digital Products other than as expressly permitted by applicable law. Such unauthorised use of a Digital Product may result in the Digital Product becoming unusable.”

So… slightly different wording, but the same underlying message: you mess with their toys, they might break yours.

Nintendo’s Listening, Too

The updated Privacy Policy also gives them permission to monitor online voice chat. It claims this is to ensure “safe and family-friendly” environments and sniff out violations of the updated terms. It’s unclear how often this will happen, but the capability is now baked in. Is this a good thing going forward? We will have to see. 

Why Now?

This overhaul comes just one month before the Switch 2 launches on June 5th, and follows a string of legal victories by Nintendo against emulation and piracy platforms. They’re clearly building a digital moat around the new system before it even hits store shelves.

Final Thoughts

If you’re a casual player? You’re probably fine. But if you’re a modder, emulator user, or even just curious about what your Switch can really do—this is your sign to read the fine print.

Because they aren’t just tightening the rules. They’re putting consequences on the table.