Piracy sites for Nintendo Switch, PS4 games taken down by FBI

The FBI took down multiple websites used by gamers to illegally download popular titles for platforms like Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.

Last week, the FBI’s Atlanta field office announced the seizure of nsw2u.com, nswdl.com, game-2u.com, bigngame.com, ps4pkg.com, ps4pkg.net and mgnetu.com — placing FBI banners on all of the sites.

The FBI said in addition to the seizure, it “dismantled the infrastructure of these websites.”

“For more than four years, the websites contained pirated copies of highly anticipated video games days or weeks before their official release date,” the FBI said in a statement. 

“Between February 28, 2025, and May 28, 2025, records indicate a total of 3.2 million downloads occurred on these sites from the most used download service. These actions resulted in an estimated loss of $170 million.” 

The FBI added that the operation was assisted by law enforcement in the Netherlands.

The takedowns prompted backlash from the gaming community on social media from those who used the sites for years. Nsw2u was particularly popular, allowing users to play games on hacked versions of the Nintendo Switch without actually purchasing the games. The platform also allowed users to download the games and the site also offered games made for PCs.

The European Union added Nsw2u to its Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List in May, writing in a report that video game industry stakeholders reported the site to law enforcement because of its role in platforming unauthorized copies of games. 

“Operators of these domains are reported not to have reacted to requests by rightholders to end the illegal activities,” EU officials said.

The United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and France all passed rules blocking Nsw2u and its related domains. The EU said the site had 2.3 million visits globally in February 2025. 

In 2021, the Entertainment Software Association industry group representing Nintendo, Microsoft and several other major gaming giants sent a letter to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative — naming Nsw2u as a platform openly ignoring takedown notices. 

Nintendo and Sony, which owns the PlayStation brand, did not respond to requests for comment about whether they were involved in the operation. 

U.S. and European authorities have launched multiple operations over the last three years intended to limit the public’s access to pirated content. 

German authorities arrested two men last year who were allegedly behind the popular pirated movie site Movie2k and Europol arrested 11 people in November during a large operation to take down one of the largest illegal streaming networks.