X announces the Original Content Rewards Program and says it will discontinue Revenue Sharing on September 7; existing members must apply for the new program (@xcreators)

X is shifting from a passive revenue-sharing model to an active application process. This means creators who previously received automatic payouts based on engagement metrics will now need to submit their content for review and approval. For engineers maintaining creator-facing dashboards or analytics tools, this introduces a new dependency: the application status of each creator. Systems that previously relied on a simple API call to check earnings will now need to track application approvals, which may not be available via the same endpoints or with the same latency.

The cutoff date of September 7 creates a hard deadline for migration. Any system still pulling data from the old Revenue Sharing API after that date will return zero or error responses. This forces teams to either update their integrations before the deadline or build fallback logic that gracefully handles the transition. The lack of a phased deprecation period means there is no room for gradual rollouts; all updates must be live by September 7 to avoid service interruptions for creators.

The new program’s focus on “original content” suggests stricter eligibility criteria than the previous model. This could reduce the number of creators who qualify for payouts, which in turn affects the financial projections of third-party tools that rely on creator income. Engineers building or maintaining these tools should prepare for potential drops in user activity or revenue, and may need to adjust their own monetization strategies accordingly. The change also introduces uncertainty: without clear documentation on the new program’s rules, it’s difficult to predict how many creators will be approved or what their earnings will look like.

From an operational standpoint, the application-based model adds complexity to payout processing. Instead of a straightforward calculation based on engagement metrics, payouts will now depend on human or algorithmic review of content originality. This could introduce delays or inconsistencies in payout timing, which may frustrate creators and increase support requests. Engineers will need to design systems that can handle these variables, such as buffering payouts until approval is confirmed or providing creators with real-time feedback on their application status.