On June 10, Nintendo officially discontinued the integration of its Switch console with social media network X, joining Microsoft and Sony, who took similar action last year.
The integration with X was deactivated with the release of Nintendo Switch update 18.1.0. This means that console owners can no longer link their social media accounts to the console for game screenshot sharing. This was the major feature of the recent software update, which also improved platform stability.
Nintendo announced the impending changes in May, without mentioning the reasons for dropping X support. However, considering Facebook integration continues to be available, the decision could be influenced by the increasing price for access to X’s API. For corporate clients, this now starts at $42,000 per month. Microsoft cut ties with X (formerly Twitter) in April last year, with Sony following suit in November. But cost may not be the only factor; the Slack messaging platform team stated their decision to discontinue X integration was due to API updates negatively impacting functionality. Despite the discontinuation of integration, X’s official Gaming account assured that the platform’s partnership with Nintendo will “remain strong”.
