Minecraft is over ten years old now, but the fans just can’t put it down for long. Continuous updates to the title and the sandbox gameplay inspiring seemingly never-ending creativity just keeps players coming back, and new content was likely to only boost that further.
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Unfortunately, Nintendo Switch players are now reporting that the most recent Minecraft update, 1.6.20, is causing significant problems on the Switch. Specifically, the game is freezing or crashing at key intervals, like when trying to access a world or Realm after having paused the game or popping out to the home menu.
While that may seem bad enough, the problem with the update is impacting the Switch as a whole. After experiencing a Minecraft crash, closing the game may not be enough to solve the problem. Following a crash in Minecraft, the Nintendo Switch is reportedly sometimes unable to load any other games without them crashing, too. The only known fix at this point is to fully reboot the console.
Mojang has officially acknowledged the issue, providing a pop-up warning in-game that details the freezing issues for Switch users. The only advice the developer has been able to provide is that signing out of one’s Microsoft account may fix the problem. However, this has its downsides, as players aren’t able to access Realms, the Marketplace, or Partnered Servers without being signed into their Microsoft accounts.
While it’s certainly possible to play Minecraft solo or in split-screen multiplayer with a friend, this issue is negatively impacting Switch players by limiting what parts of the game they can gain access to. The update launched on August 11, meaning that it’s been several days since the problem started and there’s still no answer as to when the problem will be fixed, likely aggravating players further. This is particularly problematic for players who pay a regular subscription fee in order to run a Minecraft Realms server.
For now, Minecraft players will either have to make do with the crashes, avoid certain game mechanics, or drop the game entirely until a fix is issued. Thankfully, the subsequent crashes of other games don’t appear to be corrupting game data or damaging save files, but players may want to restart their Switch system following a Minecraft crash and before booting another game for safety’s sake.
Minecraft is available now on mobile devices, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and legacy platforms.
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