As of today, Xbox users can no longer upload clips or photos to Twitter directly from their systems. On Twitter, Xbox said it “had to disable the ability to share game uploads to Twitter directly from the console and Game Bar on Windows.”
The reason for this comes down to Twitter’s Application Program Interface (API) that lets players Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch upload materials straight from their consoles. As of this past February, Twitter introduced a new payment plan that meant third-party developers would pay around $42,000 per month.
At time of writing, it appears both Sony and Nintendo continue to have Twitter integration. The function was a handy way for players and developers alike to spread word of mouth around a particular game, and if nothing else, effectively functioned as free advertising.
At the moment, Xbox owners can get around this via the console’s mobile app and downloading their console’s captures from there. PC players can pull from the library of captures on their computer.
Microsoft didn’t explicitly say this integration was being nixed because of the new API payment structure, but it also plans to remove Twitter support through its ad platform. On April 25, users of the advertising platform won’t be able to manage tweets via its management tool for social media.
So far, it and Blizzard Entertainment are the only two big developers to disable Twitter integration. The latter developer said it would turn off the function for World of Warcraft specifically back in early February.