Picofly Switch modchip firmware pulled from GitHub by Nintendo
Nintendo has used a DMCA takedown to get the Picofly modchip firmware removed from GitHub. The notice hit a network of 144 repositories at once.
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giftdetect· the right gift in minutesNintendo has gone after the Picofly, a modchip for the Switch, and it did not bother with one repository at a time. A DMCA takedown request has taken down the chip's firmware on GitHub, and the notice covers a network of 144 repositories.
A modchip is a small circuit board installed inside a console to change how it behaves, usually so it can run software the manufacturer never approved. The Picofly is one of those chips for the Switch. Its firmware is the code that makes the board work, and that code is what Nintendo wanted gone from the code-hosting platform.
The DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) is a US law that lets rights holders ask a platform to remove material they say infringes their rights. Platforms like GitHub generally act on such requests, which is why a single notice can wipe out so many repositories in one go.
Why is Nintendo targeting the Picofly?
The move follows Nintendo's earlier actions against Switch emulators, programs that imitate the console on a PC. Modchips are now on the same list. The material available does not spell out the legal reasoning in the notice, so we can only say what was removed and who asked for it.
What does it mean for Switch owners?
For anyone who wanted to find the Picofly firmware on GitHub, the usual source is now blocked, at least for the affected repositories. Copies may exist elsewhere, but nothing in the notice's reported scope says so. Nintendo's pattern is clear enough: it is working through the tools around the Switch, one platform request at a time.
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