OpenAI announced on Tuesday that it will shut down Sora, its AI-powered video generation platform, giving no public reason for the decision. The Sora team posted a farewell message on X: "We're saying goodbye to the Sora app. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you."

The company said it will provide more information "soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on preserving your work," but has not elaborated further.

The shutdown triggered an immediate consequence for OpenAI's business: Disney has cancelled its partnership with the AI company. The two had signed a three-year licensing deal just three months ago that would have allowed Sora to generate fan-inspired videos using over 200 masked, animated, and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars. Disney+ had also planned to feature a curated selection of Sora-generated videos on its platform.

Disney's planned $1 billion stake in OpenAI is also off the table. A Disney spokesperson said in a statement to Variety: "As the nascent AI field advances rapidly, we respect OpenAI's decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere. We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it."

Sora originally launched in December 2024, with Sora 2 following in September 2025. The product was met with significant Hollywood opposition over copyright concerns, including a letter from Japanese trade group CODA — whose members include Studio Ghibli — demanding OpenAI stop training Sora on their content.

No successor product has been announced. OpenAI appears to be redirecting its video generation efforts toward integration with ChatGPT rather than maintaining a standalone app.