Video Games

Nintendo to discontinue Switch screenshot uploads to Twitter among other social features

Several social media features are going away in the latest update

Rahul Majumdar

Nintendo

Starting next month, Nintendo Switch owners won’t be able to upload their gameplay screenshots and videos to X (formerly Twitter) from the console. Nintendo is also discontinuing other social media features, such as the ability to send friend requests directly.

Nintendo announced that the update will go live on June 10, 2024, which will discontinue several social media functionalities of the Switch. This also includes adjustments to screenshot sharing within games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Splatoon 3, and Splatoon 2.

While Nintendo hasn't revealed why this change is being made, an educated guess would point to recent API changes on X/Twitter. The same API changes led Sony to discontinue social media uploads on PS5.

Here are all the adjustments made to media sharing starting next month, as revealed in a Nintendo blog post:

  • The feature for posting screenshots and videos to X (formerly Twitter) from the Album in the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu will become unavailable.
  • The ability to post Super Smash Bros. Ultimate screenshots from the Album in the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu to Smash World, in the Nintendo Switch Online smart device app, will also become unavailable.
  • Splatoon 3 - When posting from the mailbox in Splatsville, Inkopolis Plaza, or Inkopolis Square, you will no longer be able to post to X (formerly Twitter) or Facebook; the data will be sent directly to Nintendo servers. This change will allow users to make posts without one of these social media accounts, but images posted by players younger than 13 will not be visible to other players.
  • Splatoon 3 - The image created for the post will be copied to the Album in the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu. Images in the Album can be transferred to a smart device wirelessly or to a PC via a USB cable.
  • Splatoon 2 - You will no longer be able to post to X (formerly Twitter) from the mailbox in Inkopolis Square.
  • Splatoon 2 - The characters that appear and posts that are displayed in the Square will be replaced by data already prepared within the game software.
  • The feature for sending friend requests to social media friends via the Friend Suggestions menu on My Page, in the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu, will no longer be available.
  • You can continue to use the friend suggestions feature from smart devices, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U.

Nintendo recently announced that it will officially reveal the Nintendo Switch 2, or whatever it's called, within the next year. The company is getting ready to sunset the Switch after eight successful years on the market, selling over 141 million units worldwide.

We don't know what features the Switch 2 will have, but with rumors indicating an early 2025 launch, it won't be long before more details emerge.

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Rahul Majumdar

RAHUL MAJUMDAR

Rahul is a writer and filmmaker from India, currently navigating the entertainment industry in Mumbai. With a keen interest in film, video games, and the tech that drives them, Rahul has written for multiple outlets like TechQuila, IGN India and IndiaTimes. He has also worked on some shows and films you may or may not have heard of, although he vastly prefers gaming binge-sessions. His favourite games include The Witcher 3 (how original), and Assassin's Creed games of yore, and he's trying his best to get into more Nintendo games. When not rambling about pop culture in blogs, you can usually find him doing the same in bite-sized chunks over at Twitter (or whichever platform is popular at the moment)!