Twitter Ending Free Access to its API Puts Games Bind to it At Risk

Twitter has officially announced that they would no longer be supporting the free access to Twitter API and instead will be replacing it with a paid version.

The support termination will be on February 9^th, 2023 and as mentioned, will be replaced with a paid basic tier. The tweet also states that more details on this matter will be delivered next week.

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Twitter data are among the world’s most powerful data sets. We’re committed to enabling fast & comprehensive access so you can continue to build with us.

We’ll be back with more details on what you can expect next week.
Follow us on Twitter Follow @GamerBraves and Tweet us Tweet to @GamerBraves

— Developers (@XDevelopers) February 2, 2023

Of course, this announcement was not welcomed, to say the least. Many voiced out their frustration towards the sudden notice as mentioned by user @dougblackjr and all around dissatisfaction for this change.

Wow….a whole week's notice. For a whole bunch of people who use your service, developers who have built products that support your service, you gave them a week's notice. This is just straight terrible leadership.

— Doug Black Jr (@dougblackjr) February 2, 2023

There are tons of consequences for switching the the API to paid version. Sites that uses twitters to for login will be affected and you can say goodbye to all those funny and useful bot accounts in Twitter. RIP daily Ace Attorney Quotes.

Hi

It is with great pain that this bot may probably cease working on February the 9th

Thanks a lot for all the moments we've built together. And it really fills me with joy to know this bot has brought good and funny moments to all of you https://t.co/m6UBl9XJlw

— Ace Attorney Court Bot 🏳‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ (@aceCourtBot2) February 2, 2023

API, to put it into simpler terms, is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. Twitter offers two of this; the REST API that helps developers access Twitter’s data and the search API that provides methods for developers to interact with Twitter’s search feature.

Putting it in gaming terms, it is this very API that lets you bind your online game accounts with Twitter. For example, games like Genshin Impact and Arknights allows players to log into the game with their Twitter account.

Since the free API will no longer be supported, developers would have to pay if they want their game to still be using Twitter to bind players’ accounts.

Although depending on the developer, they could either just remove the Twitter binding from their game entirely or pay Twitter to continue the feature.

Nevertheless, if it was the former, it would be very unlikely for them to remove the feature without notifying their players first. However as a precautionary measure, make sure to bind your account on something besides Twitter to avoid the risk of losing your accounts forever.