SAN FRANCISCO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- OpenAI announced Tuesday that it is shutting down its generative-AI video creation app Sora.

"We're saying goodbye to the Sora app," the Sora team said in a statement posted on the social platform X.

The team thanked users who had created and shared content on the platform, saying "what you made with Sora mattered" and acknowledging that the decision would be disappointing to many in its user community.

Sora, launched as a standalone app in September 2025, has been positioned as one of OpenAI's major products in generative video.

OpenAI's help-center materials as recently as March showed ongoing updates to Sora's features, including editing tools and support for the newer Sora experience, suggesting that the shutdown represents a sharp shift in the company's product direction.

In December 2025, OpenAI and The Walt Disney Company announced a three-year licensing agreement and a 1 billion-U.S.-dollar investment from Disney. Media outlets reported that the arrangement will no longer move forward following Sora's shutdown.

"As the nascent AI field advances rapidly, we respect OpenAI's decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere," Disney said in a statement Tuesday, adding that it would "continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are." ■