Sony has announced that it is terminating support for social media service X, formerly Twitter, integration on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on November 13.
This will result in players losing the ability to post and view any content from PS4 and PS5 on X. Sony hadn’t changed Twitter’s branding to show its new name, X, implemented after Elon Musk’s takeover and it is now clear why.
Sony Is Dropping X/Twitter Integration on PS4 & PS5
Sony announced the end of support for X/Twitter integration on its support website and also alerted users with a notification on the console that pops up when booting up the console. X/Twitter has been a part of PlayStation’s operating system for quite long making it very simple and straight forward for players to share their achievements, trophies, screenshots, and videos.
Players were able to directly share any media on X/Twitter that they captured on PlayStation using the #PS4Share and #PS5Share hashtags but it’s all about to end now. Here’s what Sony said:
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).
However, the removal of X integration doesn’t mean that players will not be able to share content on X, they will just need to jump a few more hoops. Sony provided players with alternative sharing methods on its FAQ page. It announced that PlayStation 5 users can upload their media and trophies to the cloud and access it via PlayStation app. These clips and achievements will be kept in the cloud for 14 days and does not require a PlayStation Plus subscription.
Users on PlayStation 5 either upload their media through the Media Gallery in PS5 or turn on auto-upload if their console is connected to the Internet and is in sleep mode. It is important to remember that the content can only be uploaded to the cloud if the resolution is set to 1080p, and if a video is less three minutes. PlayStation 4 users can share on X through the SHAREFactory app or transfer all their media onto a USB drive and then transferring it to another device.
Sony did not give any explanation as to why it is removing the decade long integration, but this move comes after rival Microsoft removed X/Twitter integration from its Xbox consoles and the Game Bar on Windows. Similar to PlayStation, Xbox users now use Xbox app available on Android and iOS devices to share content on X. Blizzard also removed X/Twitter integration from World of Warcraft earlier this year.
This changes to the consoles are the results of changes in X/Twitter’s API changes. After the $44 Billion takeover by Elon Musk, the social media platforms underwent several changes and majority of them controversial and one of these changes was the decision to charge developers a fee for accessing X’s API.
The API allows console users to easily share their media on the platform and the response to this change wasn’t received well in the video games industry. The cost of this for enterprise users was reported to be minimum $42,000 per year. The removal of integration from Xbox and PlayStation shows that Microsoft and Xbox are definitely not pleased with paying X/Twitter such money.
After this move by Sony on PlayStation, following in the footsteps of Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Switch is the only console to currently have the X/Twitter integration and it remains to be seen how long that before Nintendo is does something like this.
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