In what is a truly ironic turn of events someone has posted a message on the social media platform from a PlayStation console stating that Sony will be removing integration for X as of next week. As Sony announces the forthcoming change it is not known what the specific reasoning behind the decision is. X user @Wario64 posted the message displayed via PlayStation consoles that X will be removed on November 13. Sony has also posted a similar message on its PlayStation support page.
PS5/PS4 will no longer have Twitter/X integration as of Nov 13th, 2023 pic.twitter.com/Rm0ENYgZmX
— Wario64 (@Wario64) November 6, 2023
Per PlayStation Support Page:
“As of November 13, 2023, integration with X (formerly known as Twitter) will no longer function on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 consoles. This includes the ability to view any content published on X on PS5/PS4, and the ability to post and view content, trophies, and other gameplay-related activities on X directly from PS5/PS4 (or link an X account to do so). For details on how to share game captures from PS5, click here, and for PS4, click here.”
There is some speculation that as Sony announces its removal of the feature one theory could be due to various controversies that have arisen since being bought by Elon Musk. However, a more plausible possibility is that the removal of X relates to recent changes made to its developer API. Access to the once-free Twitter API now costs $100 per month for the Basic tier and $5,000 for the Pro. Potential enterprise customers can apply to see how much of their budget will dissipate to satiate the fiscal needs of the social media platform. There is a free version but it is restricted to write-only use and testing purposes. The new fee-based tiers are just a part of the many changes that Musk has made to the platform, including plans to charge all users subscription fees, as he attempts to restore profitability to it.
All hands abandon ship…
As noted by PC Gamer, Sony is not the first company in the gaming industry to abandon X in 2023. Blizzard announced, via its World of Warcraft forum, that it would remove Twitter posting integration from the popular game back in February. Microsoft then did the same for its Xbox consoles on April 20. It would not be hard to speculate that companies in other industries could be considering removing app integration as well now that the world’s two largest console manufacturers have united in their own abandonment of it. Microsoft did, however, advise users they could still post via other devices.
We have had to disable the ability to share game uploads to Twitter directly from the console and Game Bar on Windows. You can still share your favorite moments to Twitter via the Xbox app for Android and iOS.
— Xbox (@Xbox) April 20, 2023