Microsoft retires Facebook and Twitter from Xbox 360, suggests you use Internet Explorer

Microsoft has retired the Facebook and Twitter apps from the Xbox 360.

The console manufacturer is in the process of rolling out an update in what's described as a "pre-launch" phase, so not all users have it yet, but those who do noticed Microsoft quietly removed both the social media apps from the dashboard app marketplace, and, according to sources who spoke with The Verge, it's because Microsoft wants you to use Internet Explorer - the search engine added to the Xbox 360 for the first time with this latest update.

"We are retiring the Facebook and Twitter apps," Microsoft confirmed in a statement. "Xbox Live subscribers will have the ability to access these sites through Internet Explorer on Xbox, available through the Web Hub located on the new dashboard."

Both apps have been on Xbox 360 since the November 2009 update. Three years later, they're gone.