Eden Switch emulator

Ryujinx is gone. On October 1, 2024, lead developer gdkchan accepted an agreement with Nintendo to stop work, took the GitHub organization offline, and pulled all official builds. There was no lawsuit and no settlement number, just a private agreement. The repository wipe came six months after Nintendo’s $2.4 million settlement with Yuzu, the other major Switch emulator, and it left a lot of people without a working build, a place to file issues, or a clear successor.

The good news is that Ryujinx was MIT-licensed, so the code did not vanish with the org. Several community forks picked it up, and the Yuzu side of the family has produced its own active descendants. We compared the seven Switch emulators that are actually usable in 2026, plus the projects you should know are dead so you do not waste a weekend on them. Pricing, links, and version numbers below were checked against official project pages on May 4, 2026.

A note on legality before you scroll. Emulators themselves are legal in the United States and most jurisdictions. The Switch firmware, system keys (prod.keys), and game files are not. None of the projects below ship Nintendo’s firmware or keys, and several explicitly refuse links to ROM sites. You are responsible for dumping your own console and your own legally purchased games. We do not link to ROM sources and will not.

Quick comparison

ToolBest forPlatformsLineageCost
RyubingContinuing the Ryujinx project on PCWindows, Linux, macOSRyujinx fork (C#)Free
ryujinx-mirrorA preservation-focused Ryujinx hard forkWindows, Linux, macOSRyujinx fork (C#)Free
EdenThe most active Yuzu-line emulatorWindows, Linux, macOS, AndroidYuzu fork (C++)Free
CitronA second Yuzu-line option with regular buildsWindows, Linux, macOS, AndroidYuzu fork (C++)Free
MeloNXSwitch games on iPhone and iPadiOS, iPadOSRyujinx-basedFree
SudachiLegacy archive use onlyWindows, Linux, macOS, AndroidYuzu fork, no longer maintainedFree
Egg NSSwitch games on Android without setupAndroidClosed-source commercialFree with paid VIP

What changed in 2024 and 2026

Two things drive the current state of Switch emulation.

The first is the Yuzu settlement on March 4, 2024. Yuzu’s parent company Tropic Haze paid Nintendo $2.4 million, agreed to permanent shutdown, and handed over the yuzu-emu.org domain. Nintendo’s filing pointed at one million pre-release downloads of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and the Patreon revenue Yuzu was earning at the time. Yuzu’s source code is still out there in mirrors, which is why every active Yuzu-line emulator today is a fork.

The second is the Ryujinx agreement on October 1, 2024. Unlike Yuzu, this was not a public lawsuit. Reporting from My Nintendo News, GBAtemp, and Shacknews points to a quiet agreement between gdkchan and Nintendo. The Ryujinx GitHub organization, all builds, and the official site all came down within hours. Ryujinx was MIT-licensed, so forks were legally clear, and the Ryubing org appeared shortly after.

A third, smaller wave hit in February 2026, when Nintendo issued DMCA takedowns against Eden, Citron, Kenji-NX, and MeloNX on GitHub. Eden filed a counter-notice, and most of these projects responded by self-hosting their main repositories. That is why several of the official links below point at git.eden-emu.dev, git.citron-emu.org, and git.ryujinx.app instead of GitHub. The code is fine, the projects are alive, the hosting just moved.

1. Ryubing, the direct Ryujinx successor

Ryubing is the community fork that picked up the Ryujinx C# codebase after October 2024. It runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS, keeps the original UI, and matches the upstream feature set including Vulkan rendering, LDN local multiplayer, and the compatibility tracker. The project says it has tested around 4,300 titles, with roughly 4,100 progressing past menus and around 3,550 considered fully playable.

What you get with Ryubing is continuity. Saves, configs, mod folders, and shader caches from the original Ryujinx work without conversion. The UI is the one you already know. The codebase remains MIT-licensed.

Where Ryubing falls short: as a community continuation, Ryubing does not have the original team’s full bench. Big new features and architecture work move slower than they did in late 2023, and a few of the niche features that depended on specific contributors are still backlogged. The project is also a public target, which is why it self-hosts its main repos at git.ryujinx.app rather than GitHub.

Pricing: Free, open source under MIT. No royalties, no Patreon paywall.

Platforms: Windows, Linux (also via Flathub), macOS on Apple Silicon and Intel.

Official links: Ryubing site, Ryubing on GitHub, Ryubing on Flathub, Emulation General Wiki entry

Bottom line: Ryubing is the right pick if you used Ryujinx before October 2024 and want the same workflow back. Switch to a Yuzu-line fork only if you have specific compatibility issues with a game on Ryubing.

2. ryujinx-mirror, the preservation hard fork

ryujinx-mirror is a separate, narrower hard fork of Ryujinx. The README is direct about the goal: maintain and improve a Ryujinx codebase rather than chase major new features. It is the project to use if you want a conservative, low-surprise build of Ryujinx that tracks bug fixes and security work without taking on architectural rewrites.

The fork keeps the original C# codebase and the MIT license. Builds are released through GitHub, and the maintainers state up front that they do not host or link to firmware, keys, or game files.

Where ryujinx-mirror falls short: by design, it is not the place for ambitious new features. If you are chasing the latest shader cache improvements or Vulkan tweaks, Ryubing or one of the Yuzu-line emulators below will be ahead. Documentation is also lighter than Ryubing’s.

Pricing: Free, MIT-licensed.

Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS.

Official links: ryujinx-mirror on GitHub

Bottom line: Pick ryujinx-mirror if you want a stable, conservative Ryujinx build and do not want to sign up for a community that is still finding its rhythm. For everyone else, Ryubing is the more polished choice.

3. Eden, the most active Yuzu-line emulator

Eden is the strongest current Yuzu fork. It is written in C++, ships builds for Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android, and has been moving fast since launch. The project hosts source and releases at git.eden-emu.dev after Nintendo’s February 2026 DMCA notice took the GitHub repository down. Eden’s team filed a counter-notice and kept publishing builds.

Eden is the answer when a game runs better on the Yuzu side of the family than on Ryujinx. Yuzu was historically faster on a number of titles, especially on systems with stronger GPUs, and Eden inherits that. The Android build is the one that matters most here. It targets ARM64 directly, which is why mid-range and high-end Android phones can play games that struggle on awkward desktop ports.

Where Eden falls short: Eden is younger than Ryubing as a project, the UI is rougher than Ryujinx ever was, and the Android build is genuinely demanding. You want a recent Snapdragon 8-series or comparable chip if you expect smooth play. The DMCA history also means you should bookmark eden-emu.dev rather than rely on third-party reposts.

Pricing: Free, open source.

Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android.

Official links: Eden site, Eden source on git.eden-emu.dev, Eden releases, Eden on GitHub

Download: Aptoide

Bottom line: Pick Eden if you want the fastest active Yuzu-line emulator on PC, or if you want to play Switch games on a recent Android phone without the closed-source baggage of Egg NS.

4. Citron, a second Yuzu-line option

Citron is the other actively developed Yuzu fork worth running. It targets Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android, and ships frequent builds tagged by year and month. The project hosts source at git.citron-emu.org after the same February 2026 DMCA wave that hit Eden.

Citron and Eden share a code ancestor and overlap in a lot of titles, so the right way to use them is as a pair. If a game stutters on Eden, try Citron, and vice versa. Citron’s Windows and Android builds are the ones most users will reach for, and the project’s official site explicitly warns that an old Discord invite has been hijacked by a third party that is pushing fake builds. Use the official site or the official Git instance, not Discord links from forums or Telegram.

Where Citron falls short: the project is smaller than Eden in terms of contributor count and pace, so very new game releases sometimes get fixes on Eden first. The hijacked-Discord situation is also a real source of bad downloads in 2026, so first-time users should be careful where they click.

Pricing: Free, open source.

Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android.

Official links: Citron site, Citron source on git.citron-emu.org, Citron releases

Bottom line: Run Citron alongside Eden as a per-game alternative. Do not download Citron from anywhere except the official site or its self-hosted Git instance.

5. MeloNX, Switch games on iPhone and iPad

MeloNX is the iOS and iPadOS port built on the Ryujinx core. It does not require a jailbreak. Installation uses the same sideloading tools that other iOS homebrew uses, including AltStore, SideStore, and Sideloadly, and a free Apple ID is enough to sign the IPA for personal use.

This is the only practical way to run Switch games on an iPhone or iPad in 2026. MeloNX inherits Ryujinx’s accuracy at the cost of speed, so even on the latest iPad Pro you should expect lower frame rates than on a comparable Android device running Eden. EmuRank’s compatibility tracker has only tested a small slice of the Switch catalog on MeloNX, so check the per-game status before assuming a title runs.

Where MeloNX falls short: iOS sideloading is a pain. Free Apple IDs need re-signing every seven days, paid Apple Developer Program accounts ($99 per year) extend that to a year, and AltStore-style tools require a desktop. Performance on older iPhones and iPads is also weak, and a lot of titles are still untested.

Pricing: Free. Sideloading via AltStore or SideStore is free. A paid Apple Developer Program account is optional and lasts longer between re-signs.

Platforms: iOS and iPadOS.

Official links: MeloNX on git.ryujinx.app, EmuRank profile, AltStore, SideStore

Bottom line: Pick MeloNX if iPhone or iPad is the device you want to play on. Skip it if you have an Android phone or a PC, both of which run Switch games faster.

6. Sudachi, archive only

Sudachi is the Yuzu fork that ran 2024 to early 2026 and is no longer actively developed. Lead developer Jarrod Norwell wound down the project to focus on Folium, an iOS multi-system emulator, and publicly recommended that users move to Eden. The final builds are still available through the archived repository.

We are listing Sudachi here because the name still ranks well in search and a lot of guides from 2024 and 2025 point at it. If you find one of those guides, it is out of date.

Pricing: Free, open source.

Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android in the final archived builds.

Official links: Sudachi archive, Suyu organization page

Bottom line: Use Eden instead. The only reason to keep a Sudachi build around is to test against an older codebase for a specific bug.

7. Egg NS, the Android paid option

Egg NS is the closed-source Switch emulator from NXTeam Studios. It ships only on Android, sells a VIP subscription that removes ads and unlocks features, and is distributed outside Google Play. It is also the most controversial item on this list.

The case for Egg NS is short. It runs on Android, the setup is genuinely easier than getting Eden running on a non-rooted phone, and a non-trivial number of users do get popular titles to a playable state on it.

The case against Egg NS is longer. It is closed source, which means nobody outside NXTeam can audit what it does on your device. It is distributed through APK channels rather than vetted stores. The project asks for user accounts and pushes a paid VIP tier. The original Skyline team, which built the actual open-source Android Switch emulator, halted work in May 2023 after a Lockpick-related DMCA from Nintendo, and Egg NS has filled that gap on commercial terms rather than by community trust.

Pricing: Free with ads, three-day VIP trial on signup, paid VIP subscription for ad-free use and additional features. The exact subscription pricing varies by region and is set inside the app.

Platforms: Android only.

Official links: Egg NS WordPress, NXTeam developer Quora thread

Bottom line: Try Eden on Android first. Only consider Egg NS if you are aware of the closed-source trade-off, you have read its privacy and account terms, and you are choosing it with eyes open.

Projects that are dead in 2026

Skip these. They show up in old guides and they do not run safely or well on current hardware.

How to choose

Pick Ryubing if you used Ryujinx before October 2024. Saves and configs carry over, the UI is identical, and the C# codebase keeps the original character of the project.

Pick Eden if you want the fastest active emulator on PC and Android, or if you specifically need Android. Run it alongside Ryubing and use whichever gives the better result per game.

Pick Citron as a second Yuzu-line emulator to cover games where Eden has a regression.

Pick MeloNX only if your target device is an iPhone or iPad. Otherwise an Android phone or any PC will outperform it.

Pick ryujinx-mirror if you want a conservative Ryujinx build and do not need new features.

Avoid Egg NS unless you have read the closed-source trade-off and accept it. Avoid Sudachi, Suyu, Yuzu, and Skyline entirely.

For broader Android gaming context, see our guides to Android games with the best graphics and classic RPGs for Android.

FAQ

Is Ryujinx still available in 2026?

No. The original Ryujinx project shut down on October 1, 2024 after lead developer gdkchan accepted a private agreement with Nintendo. The GitHub organization, official builds, and original site are gone. Active continuations exist as community forks, with Ryubing being the most direct successor.

What is the best Ryujinx alternative on PC?

Ryubing for users who want the original Ryujinx experience back, and Eden for users who want the strongest current Yuzu-line emulator. Most serious users keep both installed and pick per game based on compatibility.

The emulator software itself is legal in the United States and most jurisdictions. What is not legal is downloading Nintendo’s Switch firmware, system keys, or game files you do not own. Every reputable project below refuses to host or link to those, and you are responsible for sourcing them from your own console and your own legally purchased games.

Why did Nintendo shut down Ryujinx and Yuzu?

Nintendo settled with Yuzu’s developer Tropic Haze on March 4, 2024 for $2.4 million, citing pre-release piracy of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It then approached Ryujinx’s lead developer privately in October 2024 and reached an agreement to end the project without a public lawsuit. In February 2026 it issued DMCA notices to several Yuzu-line forks on GitHub, which is why projects like Eden and Citron self-host their main repositories now.

Can I play Switch games on Android in 2026?

Yes, with caveats. Eden’s Android build is the open-source option and works well on recent flagship and upper mid-range phones. Citron has an Android build as well. Egg NS is a closed-source commercial alternative with broader device support but real trust concerns. Skyline, the older open-source Android emulator, has been discontinued since 2023.

Can I play Switch games on iPhone or iPad?

Only through MeloNX, which is built on the Ryujinx core and runs without jailbreak using sideloading tools like AltStore or SideStore. Performance is lower than Android for the same chip class, and only a small share of the Switch catalog has been tested.

Ryujinx was MIT-licensed, which means forks like Ryubing and ryujinx-mirror are clearly within the license. Yuzu’s source is also out there in mirrors and forks like Eden and Citron continue from it. Nintendo’s February 2026 DMCA notices targeted distribution rather than legality of the code itself, and at least Eden filed a counter-notice and continued releasing builds.

Sources checked