Sora
by OpenAI
Video Generation
Subscription
✨ A case study now: the most famous AI video model ever, and the clearest lesson in compute economics.
OpenAI's headline video model — discontinued as a standalone product in April 2026, API shut down September 2026. The Sora 2 model now lives on inside ChatGPT's paid tiers.
About Sora
Sora was OpenAI's text-to-video breakthrough: cinematic clips up to 20 seconds at 1080p, with Sora 2 adding synchronized audio, multi-shot prompts, and a Cameo feature that puts your face and voice into generated video. It hit number one on the App Store in October 2025 — then usage collapsed, and OpenAI killed the standalone app on April 26, 2026 (the API followed on September 24), calling it a side quest. Most people do not know the model itself survived: Sora 2 remains a generation option inside ChatGPT's paid subscriptions, and the shutdown economics are now the industry's clearest data point — roughly $1.30 of compute per 10-second clip by one report. Filmmaker use-case: nothing to buy anymore; the lesson is to prototype client concepts on platforms with sustainable pricing.
Key Features
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⚡Sora 2: up to 20s clips, 1080p, synced audio on the Pro tier
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⚡Cameo: insert yourself — face and voice — into generated video
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⚡Multi-shot prompting with consistent characters
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⚡Standalone app and web experience: discontinued April 26, 2026
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⚡Developer API: discontinued September 24, 2026
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⚡Model still available as a generation option inside ChatGPT paid tiers
Pros
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✓Set the bar for physical realism in AI video at its peak
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✓Multi-shot prompts and Cameo were genuinely novel
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✓Every clip was a masterclass in what good prompting can do
Cons
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✕No longer available as a standalone product
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✕Even the API path is shut down — zero developer access
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✕Retention collapsed: reportedly 1% of users stayed past 30 days
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