It seems that Nintendo is removing a large amount of free Mario Bros content for Nintendo Switch users.
According to several creators who have published levels in Super Mario Maker 2 (one of the most original and creative games from the Japanese company), it seems that Nintendo is removing some of these levels for allegedly containing “advertising content.”
Nintendo is removing levels from Super Mario Maker 2
This measure has led some creators to raise their voices, accusing Nintendo of “putting an end to Super Mario Maker 2” and, as a consequence, “alienating its biggest fans.”
In a video titled “Nintendo is removing THOUSANDS of levels for no justified reason” (via IGN), YouTuber PangaeaPanga stated: “I recently found out via email that I think one of my levels has been removed or taken down. Although it didn’t say which one.”
PangaeaPanga shares the email he received from Nintendo, which states: “The content you have shared, whether in a game or through an online service, has been removed or hidden from other players because it violates the Nintendo account user agreement, including community guidelines.”
The reason given is “advertising,” but no further details are provided, leaving PangaeaPanga only with the possibility of speculating about what level has been removed by Nintendo and why it has been removed for advertising reasons.
Several reports from X users (formerly Twitter) such as Silverplanes and Psycrow have revealed that Nintendo has also removed more levels for the same reason.
But why has Nintendo suddenly decided to take drastic measures about this? Especially considering that many of these levels are almost a decade old. Well, the reason could be due to the actions of a single person.
As PangaeaPanga points out in his video, it seems that Nintendo is removing levels that include hashtags or any variant of the name TeamShell, which is a Discord server for Super Mario Maker.
Apparently, Discord has a rule that shared levels must be tagged with “#TS” or “#TeamShell” in order to be highlighted on the server, as this likely helps users to find them.
And, therefore, this would be considered server advertising at custom levels of Super Mario Maker 2, something that would violate Nintendo’s terms of service.