Today’s big PlayStation 5 software update brings a bevy of much-needed features to the console, adding, among other things, the ability to play PS5 games that are stored on external solid-state drives (SSD). But it also quietly fixed the PS5’s most annoying quirk: You can finally turn off that goddamn screenshot icon.
The PS5 launched last November with a Share button built into its controller. Depending on how you tweak your settings, you can snap screenshots by either holding it down for a second, or by pressing it once. But there was no setting to deactivate the confirmation icon — a small grey box that, like a second-degree acquaintance who stays at the party after the person who invited them leaves, lingers just a bit too long.
Read More: The PS5’s Screenshot Overlay Is Incredibly Annoying
My colleague Renata Price snapped a Guilty Gear screenshot that illustrates how irritating that icon could be:
And when you snapped a bunch of screens in quick succession, you might end up with several in one frame. (See: top screenshot.)
In yesterday’s PlayStation Blog post detailing the update, Sony spilled much ink on the marquee changes, stuff like the SSD expansion, the UI enhancements, or the new 3D audio features. But this change — huge for those who take a ton of screenshots — flew under the radar.
Following the update, go to your settings, open the Captures and Broadcasts menu, scroll to “Captures,” and click on “Shortcuts for Create Button.” At the bottom, you’ll see a toggle to turn the thing on or off. (If it’s grayed out, it’s off.)
That’s it! If you must have confirmation of your screens, the PS5 will still make a noise reminiscent of a camera shutter whenever you snap a screenshot. And you can always pull up the control centre with the PS button to see your most recent 15 screens.
Over the past 10 months, Sony has rolled out intermittent updates to the console. An April update in particular added a bunch of welcome changes, like cross-gen Share Play and support for storing (but not playing) PS5 games on external SSDs. No one update has fundamentally changed how the system works, but considered altogether, they’re a sign that Sony understands the PS5 is a work in progress, still has room for improvement, and is committed to making requested changes.
Of course, in the face of a global chip shortage that’s inflated wholesale semiconductor prices, Sony has been unable to do much about the console’s most glaring flaw: its limited availability.
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