Microsoft has been making big changes recently, and the newest is the shutdown of one of its major digital storefronts onXboxand PC. In recent years, Microsoft has pushed a unified digitalecosystem across consoles and PC, with features like the Microsoft Store and Xbox Game Pass serving both hardware options. It can certainly be convenient, but the concern of service cessations comes with heightened complications.
Microsoft shut down its digital movies and TV store on Xbox and PC today, as reported by Tom Warren ofThe Verge. While previously purchased content will remain available in the Movies & TV app, new purchases are no longer possible. In a Bluesky post,Warrenalso noted that attempting to load the store currently results in an error screen on Xbox.
Microsoft’s Movies & TV Store Is No More
A Quick End To A Long-Running Service
Movie and TV purchase options were previously provided through the Microsoft Store on both Xbox and PC, as well as Microsoft.com. While streaming has become the primary digital option for filmed content,purchasing digital copies to keep has its appeal, especially for movies and shows that aren’t available on any streaming services.
The sudden shutdown follows a year after the Movies & TV app was discontinued on the Xbox 360, but the storefront remained available on modern platforms until now. Nearly 20 years after Microsoft’s big push for digital music and video with the introduction of Zune services and devices, this move distances the company from providing its own services for most forms of digital entertainment.
No Xbox Service Is Guaranteed To Last
Digital Environments Don’t Promise Permanence
Despite the discontinuation of music and movie options,Microsoft continues to push its digital game ecosystem, especially theXbox Game Pass subscription. As the core underpinning of Xbox’s modern model, there’s no reason to believe this will change anytime soon. Nonetheless, the swift end to movie and TV purchases is a reminder that shutdowns can come swiftly, and investing in digital options tends to come without any real guarantees.
It would be nice to get better communication from Microsoft in the future — pulling the plug is one thing, but doing it so abruptly that the store simply leaves an error message is another. In the wake ofsweeping company-wide layoffs, however, it isn’t entirely surprising that no warning was given. The end of the movies and TV storefront onXboxand PC may be just another chapter in Microsoft’s continuing story of aggressive pivots.
