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A weird new Nintendo Switch glitch is really annoying users

Published May 16th, 2017 4:08PM EDT
Nintendo Switch screenshot glitch
Image: Nintendo

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Every new game console suffers through growing pains in the weeks and months after its release, but a recently discovered bug affecting some Nintendo Switch users is especially strange. Over the weekend, a few dozen Switch users took to Reddit and the Nintendo support forums to ask if anyone else’s Switch had been automatically taking screenshots even when the Capture Button wasn’t being pressed.

As it turned out, they weren’t alone. Even Matt Wales at Kotaku UK experienced the glitch, and while its cause is still unknown, a majority of the Switch owners having screenshots randomly taken on their consoles appear to have downloaded Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition.

In fact, some internet sleuths have even dug up a clip from the live stream debut of Minecraft on the Switch and noticed that the streamers were having the same issue (though they either didn’t notice or just didn’t say anything). You can see the Switch take a ton of screenshots starting at around 3:30:

It’s unclear if there is a permanent solution for the glitch at the moment, but some users have reported that by performing a hard reset — holding the power button down for 10 seconds, then pressing it again — the issue goes away. Certainly not a game-breaking bug, but one that Switch owners would prefer to avoid. After all, who wants to spend half an hour deleting 1,400 screenshots of the home menu?

Neither Nintendo nor Minecraft developer Mojang have issued a response to the glitch yet, but we’ll be sure to update this post if we hear anything from either company.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.