Nintendo discontinues Nintendo Network ID logins after reports of accounts being hacked

After recent reports of Nintendo account users having their accounts accessed without their consent, Nintendo has decided to remove the ability to sign into Nintendo accounts using a Nintendo Network ID.

The company has stated that, at the moment, there is “currently no evidence pointing towards a breach of Nintendo’s databases, servers or services.”

“As one action in our ongoing investigation, we are discontinuing the ability to use a Nintendo Network ID to sign in to a Nintendo Account. All other options to sign-in to a Nintendo Account remain available.”

“As a further precaution, we will soon contact users about resetting passwords for Nintendo Network IDs and Nintendo Accounts that we have reason to believe were accessed without authorisation.”

In response to recent incidents related to some Nintendo Accounts, it is no longer possible to sign into a Nintendo Account using a Nintendo Network ID. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please visit our Support website for more information: https://t.co/GMrXr5OHW0

— Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) April 24, 2020

If you’re not too sure what a Nintendo Network ID is and you’re worried you may be affected, here’s an explanation. A Nintendo Network ID was used for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS consoles to help players access a larger range of network services, including the now-discontinued Miiverse.

A Nintendo Network ID consists of a unique identifier consisting of 6 to 16 characters. If your first Nintendo console is a Switch, or if you never had a Wii U or Nintendo 3DS, it is extremely unlikely that you have a Nintendo Network ID.

Regardless of whether you’ve been affected by the unauthorised account logins or not, you should secure your Nintendo account using two-factor authentication and ensure that your password is unique and not used for any of your other accounts.

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Following multiple reports of Nintendo account users saying that their accounts have been accessed without their consent, the company has confirmed that it’s looking into the issue.

The reports appear to have started with Twitter user Pixelpar, who sent out a Tweet on the 19th of April stating that their account was “accessed numerous times overnight” despite having a unique password and a clean PC.

Eurogamer also reported that a staff member also experienced “the same thing” on Friday the 17th of April. Many users on Twitter, Reddit, and Resetera also said they had undergone similar experiences, with some users saying their funds were used to purchase Fortnite’s in-game currency of V-Bucks.

Nintendo issued a statement to VGC saying the following:

“We are aware of reports of unauthorized access to some Nintendo Accounts and we are investigating the situation. In the meantime, we recommend that users enable two-step verification for their Nintendo Account as instructed here.”

“If any users become aware of unauthorized activity, we encourage them to take the steps outlined at https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Support/Nintendo-Account/Nintendo-Account-Recovery-Process-1658054.html or visit https://support.nintendo.com for general support.”

Two-step verification for Nintendo accounts is simple, requiring only the Google Authenticator app to work.

If you’re worried about people accessing your account without your consent, it may also be an idea to temporarily unlink your payment method (whether it’s card, PayPal, or something else) until the issue is resolved.

You can help secure your Nintendo Account by enabling 2-Step Verification.

For more details, visit: https://t.co/kqxbp8TobD pic.twitter.com/hZ1PnFWZQw

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 9, 2020