OpenAI's Sora 2 Videos API, Home of sora-2 and sora-2-pro, to Shut Down on September 24, 2026

OpenAI will remove the Videos API and all five Sora 2 model identifiers from its developer platform on September 24, 2026, ending programmatic access to the text-to-video models that generated clips with audio at up to 1080p.

The date comes from OpenAI's deprecations page, which says developers using the Videos API and the Sora 2 aliases and snapshots were notified on March 24, 2026. That is six months' notice, the minimum the same page promises for generally available models. Six entries carry the September 24 shutdown date: the Videos API itself, the aliases sora-2 and sora-2-pro, and the dated snapshots sora-2-2025-10-06, sora-2-2025-12-08 and sora-2-pro-2025-10-06. The entry gives no reason for the removal.

The "Recommended replacement" column is blank for all six. Other deprecations on the same page name a successor model; the Sora 2 entry does not. Under the page's own definitions, a model or endpoint that reaches its shutdown date is no longer accessible. The same warning now sits at the top of OpenAI's video generation guide.

The deprecation names the Videos API as a whole rather than single endpoints. Per the guide, that API covers creating a render with POST /videos, polling it with GET /videos/{video_id}, downloading the MP4 from GET /videos/{video_id}/content, and listing and deleting videos. It also covers reusable characters at POST /v1/videos/characters, clip continuation at POST /v1/videos/extensions, targeted changes at POST /v1/videos/edits, and Batch API queues for POST /v1/videos.

The Videos API launched on October 6, 2025 at OpenAI DevDay with Sora 2 and Sora 2 Pro, according to OpenAI's API changelog. On January 13, 2026, the sora-2 alias moved to the December 8 snapshot. On March 12, 2026, OpenAI expanded the API with character references, generations of up to 20 seconds, 1080p output on sora-2-pro, video extensions and Batch support. The same day, it added the edits endpoint and said the older remix endpoint would be deprecated in six months. The shutdown notice followed 12 days later.

As of September 19, OpenAI's pricing page still lists the models: $0.10 per second for sora-2 at 720p, and $0.30, $0.50 and $0.70 per second for sora-2-pro at 720p, 1024p and 1080p. Batch rates are half of each.

For developers, the first job is files. The guide says download URLs are valid for a maximum of one hour after generation, and that Batch-generated videos can be downloaded for up to 24 hours after the batch completes. It tells developers to copy anything they need to their own storage. The guide does not say how long finished videos otherwise remain retrievable, or what happens to them on September 24.

The second job is code. Any call that names one of the five model IDs, or any Videos API route, is scheduled to stop working on the shutdown date, and OpenAI's documentation offers no mapping to another service. The deprecations page says that in some cases developers may be able to provision dedicated capacity for continued access after a shutdown date by contacting OpenAI's sales team. The Sora 2 entry does not say whether that option applies to the Videos API.

The API is the second stage of a wider wind-down. The Decoder reported on March 28, citing an OpenAI help page, that the Sora app and web version were set to close on April 26, 2026. OpenAI had not decided whether to offer a final export window after the cutoff dates, The Decoder wrote, and user data is to be permanently deleted once all deadlines pass. The outlet reported that OpenAI is shifting compute toward coding tools and enterprise customers, and that Sora will continue as a research project focused on world models.

Creators who reach Sora 2 through a third-party tool rather than their own code could see that option disappear on the same date, if the tool calls OpenAI's API underneath.

The Videos API and all Sora 2 model IDs are scheduled to become inaccessible on September 24, 2026. OpenAI posts shutdown dates and recommended replacements on its deprecations page.