Nintendo Blocks YouTube Content Creator’s Breath of the Wild Videos Following Release of a Multiplayer Mod
Posted on April 10 2023 by Chakell Herbert
Popular Zelda YouTube content creator PointCrow has been working on a multiplayer Breath of the Wild mod for a few years now, allowing friends to play as multiple Links and wreak havoc in the land of Hyrule together. The idea came together after PointCrow offered a $10,000 bounty to anyone who could develop such a mod, with modders Alex Mangue and Sweet answering the challenge. Together with PointCrow, the team has continued to develop the mod, with PointCrow sharing regular updates of its progress on his channel.
At long last, the mod was recently released to the public via PointCrow’s Discord channel. The mod, available for the Wii U version of Breath of the Wild, gives multiple players the opportunity to adventure together split-screen style, allowing them to work together to tackle Shrines, find Korok Seeds, and even play hide-and-seek with one another.
However, Nintendo it seems isn’t a big fan of this mod, as, unfortunately, just a few days after its release, several of PointCrow’s videos have been blocked by Nintendo on copyright grounds. Videos related to the Breath of the Wild multiplayer mod were specifically targeted, including a video Zelda Dungeon previously reported on here. According to PointCrow, some of his content has been demonetized or removed from YouTube altogether.
It is unclear at this time if these videos have been blocked as the result of DMCA takedown notices from Nintendo or as part of claims made by Nintendo through YouTube’s content ID system. In either case, PointCrow has the opportunity to appeal the blocks and restore the videos to YouTube.
PointCrow responded to the copyright claims on Twitter, saying that he has already appealed some of the claims:
Update: I have appealed these claims. As of now, they are still visible for you to watch — however, they are not monetized. Hopefully Nintendo releases these claims, as I significantly transform their work and my videos are under fair use.
— eric pointcrow (@PointCrow) April 7, 2023
While this situation is being resolved, you can still check out PointCrows’ other fantastic content, like when he showcased a mod that replaces all the enemies in Breath of the Wild with Golden Lynels or when he beat the entire game without walking!
After putting so much work into developing this mod, it’s unfortunate to see content related to it being taken down so soon after its official release. What are your thoughts on Nintendo’s actions against PointCrow? Did you try the multiplayer mod? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments!
Chakell (pronounced shuh-kell) is an associate editor for Zelda Dungeon! She has loved The Legend of Zelda series since she was a little girl because of its equal mix of princesses, besting bad guys, and heartfelt stories. Chakell lives in the overall tame state of Utah, but holds onto her childhood hopes to find an adventure in her backyard one day. She has a degree in English and is a full-time editor for a magazine. You can usually find her gaming (obviously), laughing with her husband, taking a long time to tell stories because she keeps getting distracted; getting sucked into books and podcasts; or snuggling her cute Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
