What changed
OpenAI’s documented September 24, 2026 shutdown date has passed for the Videos API and the Sora 2 model family. The affected aliases include sora-2, sora-2-pro and dated Sora 2 snapshots. Unlike many model deprecations, OpenAI’s current deprecation table shows no recommended replacement for either the Videos API or the Sora 2 models.
Why it matters
Developers who built production video generation around OpenAI cannot simply swap to a successor OpenAI model ID. Calls to the retired surface can fail, and migration now means selecting another video-generation provider or changing the product workflow. The absence of an official replacement also increases switching and compatibility work around prompts, duration controls, output formats, moderation, latency and cost.
The scheduled cutoff is now effective
OpenAI announced the deprecation on March 24 and gave developers six months before removal. September 24 has now passed, so the issue has moved from migration planning to active service compatibility.
There is no drop-in OpenAI successor
OpenAI’s deprecation documentation leaves the recommended-replacement column blank for the Videos API, sora-2, sora-2-pro and the listed dated snapshots. That is materially different from a normal model retirement where developers are pointed to a newer model on the same API.
Migration crosses provider boundaries
Teams that still need programmatic video generation must evaluate another available video API or remove the capability. That requires behavioral testing rather than a model-name substitution because providers differ in request shapes, generation controls, safety policy, output characteristics, latency and pricing.