Entertainment

ESA Wants Anbernic Handhelds Named on US Piracy Blacklist

Vince MaglayaPublished 2m ago3 min readBased on 7 sources
ESA Wants Anbernic Handhelds Named on US Piracy Blacklist
source:ustr.gov

Retro handheld maker Anbernic should be added to the United States government's Notorious Markets List, the video games trade body has argued.

The Entertainment Software Association, which represents games publishers, singled out Anbernic in a submission to US trade officials, according to GamesIndustry.biz. The submission was reported on 14 October 2026.

At issue are plug-and-play consoles and portable handhelds. These are small, low-cost devices styled like classic portables and often sold online with thousands of older games already installed. The buyer gets an instant library. The rights holder gets nothing.

The association described illicit versions of those devices as the functional equivalent of superfakes. Superfakes is trade jargon for high-quality counterfeits that are hard to distinguish from genuine goods. In this case, the hardware can look legitimate while the software inside is pirated.

The Notorious Markets List is published by the Office of the US Trade Representative. It names online and physical markets that reportedly engage in or facilitate large-scale trademark counterfeiting and piracy, according to the US Trade Representative. The listing carries no direct penalty. It serves as a public flag to press foreign authorities and private operators to act.

The office released its 2025 review, covering counterfeiting and piracy, on 2 March 2026. Work has now started on the 2026 edition. A notice published on 26 August 2026 said that edition will examine issues around superfakes, according to the Federal Register.

That focus helps explain the timing. Games piracy cases once centred on download sites and copied discs. This filing centres on hardware you can hold in your hands.

For shoppers, the distinction matters. A second-hand console resold with its original cartridges is one thing. A new handheld advertised with a thousand games built in is what the association wants flagged. One is reuse. The other, in its view, is mass infringement in a box.

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