The ability to play Switch games on Android might not last forever

There’s no question that the Nintendo Switch is one of the most beloved gaming consoles of all time. Since its launch in 2017, Nintendo has sold over 153 million units worldwide, and its game catalog is unmatched, offering some of the best titles of any console generation, like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and more.

So when the first major Nintendo Switch emulators appeared a few years ago and were working, people were understandably excited about the idea of being able to emulate their favorite Switch games, just like they have with past Nintendo consoles like the Wii and GameCube, using emulators like Dolphin.

However, Nintendo Switch emulators have had a rocky history. One of the first major Switch emulators, Yuzu, ran into trouble in 2024 after Nintendo sued it and forced it to shut down. In its lawsuit, Nintendo claimed that Yuzu was “facilitating piracy at a colossal scale.” Yuzu settled with Nintendo, paying $2.4 million and agreeing to stop all development of its Switch emulator.

Additionally, another popular Switch emulator, called Ryujinx, was also shut down in late 2024 after Nintendo contacted it and “offered an agreement to stop working on the project.” While Yuzu and Ryujinx are no longer active, Switch emulation efforts have continued and there is new hope now. If you’ve ever wanted to try Switch emulation on your Android phone, the new Eden Emulator available on the Google Play Store makes it possible. How long it will last, however, remains uncertain.

What is the Eden Emulator?

It’s an open-source Switch emulator, but you need to supply your own software and firmware for it to function

When I first discovered the Eden Emulator on the Google Play Store, I have to admit I was stunned. Seeing a Nintendo Switch emulator that’s easily accessible and downloadable on my Android phone felt almost too good to be true, but here it is.

If you’re curious about what the Eden Emulator is, according to its app description, it’s a “Nintendo Switch emulator, forked from Yuzu, focusing on high performance without compromising aesthetics, compatibility, or stability.” On its website, the developers behind Eden describe it as an “experimental open-source emulator” that is “written in C++ with cross-platform support for Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, OpenBSD, and Android.”

The emulator has been available on the Google Play Store since August 19 and has gained over 100,000 downloads with positive reviews. It’s important to note, of course, that simply downloading the Eden Emulator doesn’t mean you can start playing Switch games right away; otherwise, Nintendo’s lawyers would have shut this down quickly. The Eden Emulator app is just a platform that can potentially run Switch games; to actually use it, you’ll need to provide your own firmware keys and software for it to function.

From the reviews thus far, it seems people are able to play games stably on it, with one reviewer saying they were “amazed at how well this works” on their Galaxy S25 Ultra and another claiming it’s “Far and away the best emulator for Switch.” Of course, since this is an emulator, your experience may vary depending on your hardware, and a lot of experimentation is required to get it working correctly. So, keep that in mind if you decide to give it a try.

Will the Eden Emulator last?

Its future looks promising if Nintendo stays away

While it’s great to see an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator on the Google Play Store, one of the biggest concerns is how long this will last. Given the history with Yuzu and Ryujinx, it feels like any Switch emulator could be shut down at any moment. And with the Eden Emulator being so publicly available on the Google Play Store and in the spotlight now, some users are worried.

In a Reddit post about the Eden Emulator, some users expressed these concerns. One Redditor says, “This is a mistake imho. It brings unnecessary attention to the switch emulation scene and we all know what happened to Yuzu…” and another says “This feels like a recipe for disaster” for the Eden Emulation project.

It’s impossible to know what Nintendo may or may not do here. It might ignore it or randomly decide to shut it down in the blink of an eye. Ideally, Nintendo would leave the Eden Emulator alone, since, on the surface, just downloading it from the Google Play Store doesn’t let you play anything, and it’s more of a blank canvas.

Whatever happens, if you want to try Nintendo Switch emulation on your Android device, now’s the time to do it before anything happens. With the Eden Emulator easily accessible on the Google Play Store and no need for sideloading, the path to getting started on Switch emulation is easier than ever. However, you’ll still need to navigate the complexities of setting up a Switch emulator once you have it yourself.