OpenAI shut down the Sora consumer app on April 26, 2026. The API remains live until September 24, 2026, giving developers time to migrate. Existing users need to download their content before final deletion deadlines.

For the broader landscape, see our complete guide to AI video generation in 2026.

What Happened

OpenAI closed the Sora web app and consumer interface on April 26, completing the first stage of a two-phase shutdown. The API continues operating through September 24, 2026, when all Sora infrastructure goes offline. OpenAI has not confirmed whether an export window will be available after that date.

The company has urged current users to download any videos and images stored in the Sora library immediately. Users who need a final export window will receive email notification if one is offered.

Why It Matters

Sora launched publicly in late 2024 as one of the highest-profile AI video tools, backed by OpenAI credibility and early viral demos. Its shutdown confirms that even well-resourced AI video products face a fundamental economics problem: the compute cost to generate video is orders of magnitude higher than text or images, and sustained user engagement is harder to build when generation times and credit costs are high.

OpenAI reportedly spent approximately $1 million per day running Sora, while active users declined from a peak of around 1 million to under 500,000 at shutdown. The company is reallocating compute toward enterprise products and coding tools, where sustained daily usage and subscription retention are better established.

For creators, Sora is not the only shutdown risk to consider. Any AI video product with high per-generation costs and an unclear path to sustainable user economics faces a similar structural challenge.

Key Details

  • Consumer app closed: April 26, 2026
  • API shutdown: September 24, 2026
  • Reported operating cost: Approximately $1 million per day
  • Peak users: ~1 million; at shutdown: under 500,000
  • Data: OpenAI has not confirmed whether a post-shutdown export window will be offered -- email notification promised if one is available
  • Sora future: Continues as an internal research project on "world models," not a consumer product
  • Disney partnership: Ended alongside the consumer shutdown

What to Do Next

If you have content stored in Sora, download it now. Do not wait for a confirmed export window -- OpenAI has not committed to providing one. The OpenAI Help Center article "What to know about the Sora discontinuation" has the most current deadline information.

For video generation workflows, current alternatives include Grok Imagine for image-to-video and Kling 3.0 for longer-form clips. HappyHorse-1.0, Alibaba's top-ranked video model, also became accessible on fal.ai this week. The API deprecation on September 24 gives developers six months to migrate any Sora API integrations.