Aggressive Nintendo copyright strikes on YouTube push Breath of the Wild multiplayer modders into taking down mod
Last week was a thrilling one for the Zelda: Breath of the Wild mod scene: a year and a half after proposing the idea of a multiplayer mod (and with a $10,000 bounty to sweeten the pot), YouTuber PointCrow released the first public version of the mod. Shortly after, Nintendo filed YouTube copyright claims against several of PointCrow's videos. This Tuesday, he announced on Discord that he was removing the mod's download links while «in talks with Nintendo.»
«I have taken down the mods in this Discord as I am currently in talks with Nintendo. All I can share right now, please no speculation and understand that I will update you all as much as I can. [Thank you so much],» reads PointCrow's full statement.
The celebrated launch and subsequent removal of the mod have given the Zelda modding community a case of emotional whiplash, especially with long-awaited sequel Tears of the Kingdom just a month away. «It’s hard to become excited for Tears of the Kingdom when the Zelda community is being nuked off YouTube,» PointCrow tweeted on Wednesday.
Nintendo being litigious over the use of its games is nothing new, but the Breath of the Wild multiplayer mod's case is unusual. High-profile YouTubers—PointCrow has nearly 1.6 million followers—are rarely involved in creating or commissioning mods themselves. PointCrow and Nintendo have not replied to a request for comment as of this writing.
Update: In a video posted Friday, PointCrow said that Nintendo had issued two copyright strikes against his channel over his Breath of the Wild multiplayer videos, «deliberately putting [his] channel in danger.» When a YouTube account gets three copyright strikes, the account «along with any associated channels, is subject to termination,»
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