In a surprising and quiet update, Microsoft has removed the ability to purchase movies and television shows from the Store, effectively ending its long-standing foray into native entertainment content. The move follows a turbulent year for the company, including major layoffs, cancelled projects, and internal restructuring within the Xbox division.
🎮 A Year of Highs and Lows for Xbox
Despite showcasing promising titles like South of Midnight and Doom: The Dark Ages, and revealing the ROG Xbox Ally handheld just last month, the Xbox brand has faced significant challenges. A wave of layoffs earlier this month led to the cancellation of major projects such as Everwild and Perfect Dark, and even the shuttering of The Initiative, a studio launched by Xbox in 2018 with high ambitions.
The decision to shutter movie and TV purchases is another blow, even if it may not impact core gaming users directly.
📺 The End of an Entertainment Era
Entertainment has long been part of Xbox’s identity. Launched in 2012, Microsoft’s “Xbox Video” was a successor to the earlier Zune marketplace. It helped set the stage for the Xbox One’s “all-in-one entertainment hub” vision, which was heavily promoted during its launch era. Unfortunately, that strategy failed to resonate with core gamers and is often cited as a major reason Xbox fell behind PlayStation and Nintendo in that generation.
Now, Microsoft has pulled the plug on selling non-gaming entertainment content. The once prominent Entertainment tab has vanished from the Xbox Store, marking a quiet end to an ambitious chapter of Xbox’s history.
🎥 What Happens to Previously Purchased Content?
There’s a silver lining: Xbox users who have previously purchased digital movies or TV shows will still have access to their collections through the Movies & TV app on their console or Windows device. Microsoft has confirmed that the app will remain functional for existing content, although no new purchases or rentals will be possible going forward.
Streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and Prime Video are unaffected, as they are categorized under the “Apps” tab and remain available for download via the store.
🔮 What This Signals for Xbox’s Future
This move reflects a narrowing of focus at Microsoft, with the company shifting away from multi-entertainment ambitions toward a more gaming-first ecosystem. With cloud gaming, Game Pass, and hardware expansion at the forefront, Xbox is repositioning itself for the future—but shedding legacy features in the process.
Whether this ultimately strengthens the Xbox brand or further alienates long-time users remains to be seen.