“We’re saying goodbye to Sora” said OpenAI in a statement posted to the X social platform. “To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you. What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing.” More details will be forthcoming, said the statement.
Announced in 2024 and launched that December, OpenAI’s Sora video generation platform has been producing synthetic videos from text prompts ever since. In December 2025, OpenAI and The Walt Disney Company announced a partnership to allow Sora to use copyrighted Disney characters in exchange for close collaboration and a billion dollar Disney investment.
All of that is set to vanish at the blink of a Tweet. It also renders copyright infringement warnings by The Motion Picture Association and by Japan-based CODA, a copyright advocacy organization, to be moot.
One less competitor
Sora’s demise reduces competitive pressures against similar prompt-based video generation offerings from Google (Veo and Nano Banana), DeeVID AI (Kling), Runway (General World Models), PixVerse, (PixVerse CLI), Luma Labs (Dream Machine), Wan, Vidu (Image to Video) and others.
Why it matters
It’s clearly a business move. According to Seema Shah, VP of insights at market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, as reported by the BBC, Sora’s global net in-app revenue of $1.4 million, compared with ChatGPT’s $1.9 billion since the platform’s launch, didn’t justify its cost. Plus, by 2030, OpenAI must generate revenue sufficient to offset an estimated $100 billion in infrastructure costs and other expenses.
There may also have been lingering concerns over piracy. While Disney and OpenAI took the route of legitimacy together, studios have accused two other video AI generators, Bytedance Seedance 2.0 and MiniMax, of piracy at scale by producing synthetic videos using copyrighted materials without license. Both Disney and Warner Bros. have also aimed lawsuits against Midjourney for the same reason.
This may not be the end of Sora, as OpenAI said more information was to come. We will see.
Further reading
OpenAi will shut down Sora video app; Disney drops plans for $1 billion investment. Article. March 24, 2026. by Todd Spangler. Variety
OpenAI closes Sora video-making app and cancels $1bn Disney deal. Article. March 24, 2026. by Osmond Chia and Emma Calder. BBC
OpenAI’s biggest challenge is turning its AI into a cash machine. Article. February 11, 2026. by Cade Metz and Mike Isaac. The New York Times
Disney invests $1B in OpenAI, licenses 200 copyrighted characters for videos made by Sora and ChatGPT users. Article. December 11, 2025. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor.
Japan: CODA concerned by Sora 2 generated content, files an usage and permissions request to OpenAI. Article. October 29, 2025. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
MiniMax: Studios sue China-based “Hollywood in your pocket” video AI platform for copyright infringement. Article. September 16, 2025. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 AI video generator is a ‘high speed piracy engine;’ echoing MiniMax suit. Article. February 19, 2026. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
Warner Bros. copyright lawsuit against Midjourney is related to Disney/Universal suit, says Court. Article. September 8, 2025. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
