This behaviour is not present in 1.21.4
To reproduce:
Delete .minecraft/options.txt
Start up 1.21.5 Release Candidate 1
Click “Continue” on the “Welcome to Minecraft” screen
Environment
OS: Windows 10 22H2
CPU: Intel Core i5-11400
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3060 (Driver version: 572.83)
Linked issues
Attachments
Comments
2
whirlfrenzy
(Unassigned)
Confirmed
Platform
Important
Rendering
1.21.5 Release Candidate 1, 1.21.5, 25w15a
25w16a
Retrieved
It is hard to be sure, but maybe this is intended behavior?